The Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) expressed its grief over the Lal Masjid operation and demanded a judicial inquiry into the matter and steps to avoid such incidents in future. The PPP's vice chairman Syed Yousaf Raza Gilani said in a statement that the government had lost precious time in negotiating with the militants.
"Even when they had challenged the state's writ by setting up their own judicial system forcing a woman minister to quit, the government failed to act," he said. He said timely action executed more carefully could have resulted in far less loss of life.
"A federal minister's reported role in securing the Lal Masjid cleric's release when the latter was caught with an arms cache in 2004, and how such a large quantity of arms found its way in the mosque, needs an answer." He said the investigation should reveal why the government had allowed construction of the mosque on an encroached land. He demanded that the government should compensate the people affected in the operation.