Pakistan: Jamia Hafsa gets new site
By Rizwan Khatik - Sat Dec 31, 12:06 pm
ISLAMABAD: The capital administration caved in to the demands of the Lal Masjid management on Thursday and allotted them a prized plot they had “desired” in the H-11 sector. The 20-kanal land has been allotted for rebuilding Jamia Hafsa, a women seminary that was razed to ground after a military operation during the Pervez Musharraf’s government in 2007.
An agreement was inked between the Islamabad administration and the Lal Masjid chief cleric Maulana Abdul Aziz and his wife Umme Hassan, principal of Jamia Hafsa, in this regard. As per the agreement, the land near Lal Masjid would be reserved for expansion of the mosque in future and no other construction would be made on the site.
“Lal Masjid issue has been resolved forever,” Deputy Commissioner (DC) Amir Ali Ahmad told The Express Tribune.
Maulana Aziz told the Tribune that the capital administration had accepted all of his demands without any ‘ifs’ and ‘buts’. He thanked Interior Minister Rehman Malik and real estate tycoon Malik Riaz Hussain for their cooperation in resolving the matter. “We are happy because the land was allotted near the graveyard of those killed in the military operation in sector H-11/4,” he said.
The agreement read, “both parties have agreed to use the entire land including 250.56 square yards previously in use of Jamia Hafsa … as solely prayer ground of Markazi Jamia Masjid (Lal Masjid)… This land shall not be used for any other purpose, institutional or residential.”
Express Tribune
