The students of an Islamabad religious seminary and central mosque on Saturday freed Chinese women, who were held hostage in an overnight raid on a massage centre, a senior official and the deputy of the seminary said.
The male students of 'Lal Masjid' and girl students of seminary 'Jamia Hafsa' raided the massage and parlour centre in the posh F-8 sector at midnight and forcibly took six Chinese women, one Chinese man and two Pakistani male persons to the seminary.
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.
"The movement of male and female students has decided to free the nine women and men keeping in view Sino-Pak friendship and seeking assurance from the Islamabad administration that mixed massage centres would be closed down," deputy of Jamia Hafsa Abdul Rashid Ghazi said.
"The Chinese massage centre in F-8/3 sector had started sex activities under the pretext of massage. We had been receiving complaints for sometime," Ghazi told a crowded news conference at his seminary. He invited Chinese ambassador and his wife to visit Lal Masjid and Jamia Hafsa to see 'how we are performing our duty for interfaith harmony'.
"If our actions have hurt the feelings of our Chinese brethren, we express our regret, Deputy Commissioner Islamabad Chaudhry Muhammad Ali, who led police team in talks, told reporters at the premises of Lal Masjid where the seminary administration handed over the hostages to them and they have left the facility.
Ali said that mixed massage centres minus those for diplomats would be shut down soon and that the administration of Lal Masjid has assured the authorities that their students will not carry out any act in future which can create law and order problem.
He said it is the duty of the administration, not of the seminary, to take action against vulgarity. "Defective policies of the government foreigners have considered Pakistan as their colony and they do what they want". Ghazi Abdul Rashid said that his seminary also sought the help of a local modern educational institution 'Beacon House' to convince management of the massage centre.
"But they not pay any heed to our requests," he said. "It was a reaction from our students," he said. "Teenagers had been visiting that center and they had been involved in it. That is why the students have shown reaction".
When asked as to why the students took law into their hands, Ghazi said it was the duty of the police to take action against the mixed massage centres. "But they were not taking actions as they have some compulsions. The police have their limitations. Sometime their actions do not produce results," he said.