DAR AL ISLAM - PAKISTAN: LAL MASJID HAS A NEW 'HEAD' IMAM

Pakistan: New head of Red Mosque chosen, sources say

Islamabad, 25 July (AKI/DAWN) - The Pakistani government has appointed Maulana Ashfaq as new imam of the Lal Masjid (Red Mosque), sources told Pakistani daily Dawn late Tuesday night.

Maulana Ashfaque, 55, is presently imam of another Islamabad mosque.

A senior official of the local administration said the new imam, belonging to the fundamentalist Deobandi school of thought, is a balanced man and free from any controversy.

He said Maulana Ashfaq will lead Friday prayers in the mosque which will be opened for prayers. It has been closed for more than 20 days due to an operation against militants which claimed 102 lives including security personnel.

Abdul Rashid Ghazi (photo), the public face of the pro-Taliban mosque, was killed when security forces stormed the premises earlier this month. His brother Maulana Aziz was captured as he tried to leave the premises disguised in a burqa.

Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz is expected to visit Lal Masjid on Thursday to inspect the renovation work of the mosque and formally announce the appointment of its new imam.

The sources said that the prime minister will also announce construction of an Islamic Centre at the site of Jamia Hafsa (one of the mosques Islamic boarding schools) which is being demolished, the sources said.

The centre would have a library, an auditorium, a marriage hall and a mini sports gymnasium, the sources said.

Meanwhile, interior ministry spokesman Brig Javed Iqbal Cheema said Lal Masjid would be opened for prayers on July 27.

A foolproof security plan has also been made for Friday prayers in the mosque.

The sources said about 80 per cent building of Jamia Hafsa had been demolished and the government had decided to bulldoze the Children’s Library adjacent to the women seminary which was illegally occupied by the students of the seminary on January 21, this year.

The interior ministry spokesman said National Engineering Services of Pakistan (NESPAK) had suggested that both Jamia Hafsa and the library buildings had badly damaged in the military operation against militants therefore they could not be used any more.

“We have no other option but to demolish them,” he said.



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1) Pakistan: New head of Red Mosque chosen, sources say