On the rampage again

The Lal Masjid based Jamia Hafsa brigade has struck again. This time, its holy warriors swooped down on a Chinese health centre in Islamabad's posh F-8/3 sector on Friday night and took away nine persons, including six Chinese females.
They were kept in the seminary for more than 12 hours and their release was made possible following a five-hour-long hectic talks between the local authorities and the 'Madrassa' officials. Jamia Hafsa, female seminary attached to the Lal Masjid, is of course there for many years now, but it came into the limelight early this year when its students occupied the nearby children library, protesting over the CDA's move to straighten the VVIP route by demolishing a mosque.
That library is still with the Jamia. Then, in April, acting as religious vigilantes the students of the Jamia Hafsa scouted video shops in the Aabpara Market to make sure that they did not sell vice-prompting material.
During one of their tours they learnt of a brothel in the nearby residential area. With the help of some male students of an affiliated seminary they raided the brothel and took away two women and a child.
A few days later the students took hostage two police officials in retaliation for two of their teachers detained by the police who were supposed to be investigating the kidnapping of the brothel inmates. The government blew hot and cold but could get the policemen only after releasing the teachers and conceding almost all other demands put forward by the Lal Masjid management.
That has raised the question why the government is not prepared to enforce its writ in the heart of the Capital while it could go all the way to the Bugti-Kohlu area in Balochistan and FATA in the wild west to sort out the allegedly rebellious elements. State Minister for interior Zafar Iqbal Warriach says the government is ready to take action against the Lal Masjid management provided the opposition supports the action.
That is a ridiculous proposition, because it is the government's and not the opposition's responsibility to ensure law and order in the country. What other action of this kind was undertaken by the government in collaboration with the opposition? In fact, the opposition, including the MMA, has been consistently of the view that these forays by the Lal Masjid management are the brainchild of the agencies.
Even the non-political group of religious leaders have not voiced any support for the Lal Masjid management. About the latest foray by the holy warriors it is said that the action has been stage-managed to shift media focus from Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry's latest journey to Multan.
Whatever the motivation, a move to cleanse society of vice and vulgarity or a parallel publicity event to steal the limelight from the adversary's long march, the kidnapping of people is too vicious a crime to be justified on any ground. Not surprisingly, during his recent visit to Pakistan the Imam of Kabah refused to endorse the Lal Masjid's Jihad against evil.
What image of Islam the Lal Masjid leaders are trying to project, and what message have they delivered to Pakistan's most trusted friend, China? Time has come for the government to take action against the criminals who are defaming the religion in the name of enforcing it. Nobody should be allowed to set up a state within the state.