Students of the seminary adjacent to the Lal Masjid on Friday vowed to offer the last Juma prayer of Ramazan 'Jumatul Wida' in the mosque, which has been closed for the last three months after launching of 'operation silence' to end stand off between students and law enforcement agencies.
They also protested against the continuous closure of the mosque and offered Juma prayer on the main road in front of Aabpara weekly bazaar. Heavy contingents of Punjab and Islamabad police were deployed in and outside the mosque to prevent the protesting students from entering in to the mosque. Main road leading to Lal Masjid was also closed for public transport and pedestrians for hours as a precautionary measure.
A protest rally was taken out from Aabpara Chowk. Personnel of the law enforcement agencies stopped the rally in front of weekly bazaar, which was dispersed peacefully after offering Juma prayers at the main road.
The protesting male and female students belonging to different seminaries under their newly established forum "Students Movement" demanded of the government to re-open the mosque for prayers, re-appoint Maulana Abdul Aziz as Khateeb of the mosque and reconstruct the demolished Jamia Hafsa at its original site.
The protesting students were carrying placards and banners inscribed with anti-government and anti-Musharraf slogans. The students also chanted pro-Islam and pro-Shariah slogans and vowed to implement Islamic law in the country. They were also determined to offer 'Jumatul Wida,' the last Juma prayer of the holy month, in Lal Masjid at any cost.
Raja Mehmood, a student leader, said that government should allow them to offer prayer in the mosque by the next Friday or face consequences as the students were determined to offer prayers in the mosque by overcoming all the hurdles. He said that their mission would continue till the fulfilment of their genuine demand of Shariah implementation in the country.
He said that sacrifices of Ghazi Rashid and others would bring Islamic revolution in the country and students would continue their struggle for achieving this goal.
On the other hand, ICT administration is still reluctant to open Lal Masjid for prayers despite a lapse of almost three months. The main challenge for the government is the appointment of new Khateeb of the mosque as the seminary students once had evicted forcibly Maulana Ashfaq, on July 29, who was appointed as new Khateeb and supposed to lead the Juma prayer after re-opening of the mosque.