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Protests Against Taliban-style Radicals in Pakistan

Iqbal Latif - 4/23/2007

Many of the over 1000 students at the mosque and madrassa Jamia Hafsa recently waged a 'morality campaign,' arresting supposed prostitutes and "un-Islamic" female car drivers, as well as threatening owners of CD stores.

Clerics at the Red Mosque set up a self-declared "Islamic court", challenging the authority of the government of President Pervez Musharraf. Musharraf this week named 'extremism, obscurantism and religious bigotry' as the greatest internal threats to the country, but has remained incapable of countering the threat other than by promising a negotiated settlement with Islamist radicals.

The radicals threatened suicide attacks if authorities challenge them militarily.

Last Sunday, moderates gathered in Karachi to protest the enforced anti-vice campaign by the fundamentalists, attacking it as campaign of "terrorism".

Moderate groups, including women's rights and human rights organizations, demanded immediate government action against administrators at the notorious Red Mosque.

Other rallies by moderates against Talibanization Pakistan took place in the cities of Lahore, Karachi and Peshawar.

"We have been watching with anger and frustration the terrorism being inflicted on the residents of Islamabad by madrassa students," said social worker Naeem Mirza. 'Enough is enough now, we demand that the government act immediately to end the intimidation of the citizens at the hands of extremists."

Protesters rejected a negotiations with Taliban-style radicals.

"They will only be encouraged by the flexibility shown by the government," academic and rally participant Dr Sherin Mazari said.

"A state-within-a-state is not acceptable to us," declared Anis Haroon of the Aurat Foundation while addressing a rally called against religious extremism as espoused by the Lal Masjid and Jamia Hafsa Thursday.

"During the tenure of different governments there have been conspiracies against women and the Jamia Hafsa matter is also a deep plot against women," she said while standing on a pick-up in front of a small but formidable crowd at the Quaid-e-Azam Mazaar.

"As a social worker, we reject this. They do this in a bid to try and keep women from attaining their fundamental rights in Islam. All religions of the world give the message of peace." She also said that the chief justice should be restored. The women vowed to continue their struggle as long as their rights were withheld from them. This struggle would continue with civil society. City Naib Nazim Nasreen Jalil condemned 'Danda bardar' force in the name of Islam and said that religion did not given permission for it either.

Many Christians, students and teachers also attended in addition to Uzma Noorani of the Women's Action Forum and her colleague Qausar Naz Nasreen, Sumera Ejaz Malik from Shirkat Gah, Aslam Brohi and Lala Hasan Pathan from Aurat Foundation, councilors from the city, Sukkur, Dadu and Badin and HRCP members with their lawyers.

Thousands of Lahoris on Thursday participated in a rally organised by the Women's Action Forum (WAF) against religious extremism and Talibanisation.
Many civil society bodies, non-government organisations, minority organisations, political parties, media organisations, lawyers and traders participated in the rally. The theme of the rally was : "Say No to Talibanisation, Say No to Religious Extremism."

Hundreds of people gathered at General Post Office Chowk about an hour before the rally. Thousands joined the rally at different points on The Mall.

Activists of the Joint Action Committee for People's Rights (an alliance of over 30 NGOs), the Women Desk Lahore Diocese Church of Pakistan, the Pakistan People's Party, the Pakistan Labour Party, the Lahore High Court Bar Association, the Lahore Bar Association, the Punjab Bar Council, trade unions, the South Asian Free Media Association, the Punjab Union of Journalists, the Lahore Press Club, and students from various educational institutions attended the rally.

The participants chanted slogans such as 'mullahism murdabad', 'lay kay rahin gay azadi', 'say no to religious extremism', 'badamaash mulalh murdabad', 'mullah raj murdabad', 'live and let live', 'aab raj karay gi khalq-e-Khuda jo mein bhi ho aur tum bhi ho', 'mullah-military alliance murdabad' and 'khud sakhta shariah na manzoor'.

Traders on Hall Road welcomed the rally by displaying banners on shops and plazas inscribed with 'stop blackmailing and exploiting traders in the name of Islam' and 'we condemn mullahs' operation against CD shops'. Speaking at the rally, Asma Jahangir, chairperson of the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan, said that the military-backed government was using mullahs to exploit the people in the name of Islam.

She said that the government was defaming burqa-clad students of the Jamia Hafsa instead of exposing the military-backed mullahs who were behind the scene. "The people of Pakistan are well aware of the mullah- military alliance," she added. She said that there could not be democracy in Pakistan unless the military stopped supporting mullahs. She said that the writ of the government could not be established until mullahs were stopped from exploiting the people. "Human rights activists will continue their struggle against the military dictatorship and extremism," she added. Pakistan People's Party Punjab chapter president Shah Mahmood Qureshi said that the Jamia Hafsa issue had been devised by the government to win public support.

Nighat Saeed Khan (Women's Action Forum):
President General Pervez Musharraf is following the policies of General Zia-ul-Haq by supporting extremists. WAF has taken a stand against Talibanisation to protect people from religious extremists.

Fareeda Shaheed (Women's Action Forum):
the government is supporting religious extremists in Pakistan to gain public support. Mullahs are promoting the wrong image of Islam by supporting burqa-clad seminary students of Jamia Hafsa.

Farooq Tariq (Pakistan Labour Party):
The military-backed government should withdraw the aid given to seminaries to improve their standards. Mullahs should eradicate poverty from the country instead of forcing people to follow their agenda.

Salima Hashmi (Women's Action Forum):
Providing rights to the people is necessary for peace and stability in the country. Conflicts can be resolved by limiting the involvement of 'hidden hands' in matters of national importance.

Ayra Inderyas (Church of Pakistan):
The minorities believe in interfaith harmony and condemn terrorism in the name of religion. The Lal Masjid stand-off is a manifestation of religious extremism and the Christian community is against it.