The Lal Masjid in Islamabad in Pakistan, which is known for its support to the Taliban, is back in news. This time, several Taliban flags were again found to be hoisted on the roof of the mosque. It is notable that a women’s madrassa known as Jamia Hamsa is also located near the mosque which is supervised by a cleric named Abdul Aziz.
Cleric Maulana Abdul Aziz threatened the police that reached there to remove the flags. Abdul Aziz, who is known to be an Islamic fundamentalist, was seen carrying a rifle and intimidated the Islamabad police in the name of the Pakistan Taliban. A large number of women belonging to the madrassa were also present at the spot. A video of the incident has gone viral on social media.
Scenes outside Jamia Hafsa in Islamabad after policemen arrived at the seminary to remove Afghan Taliban’s flag from its rooftop. Red Mosque’s Maulana Abdul Aziz can be seen carrying a weapon pic.twitter.com/jkJ8XH5R1v
— Roohan Ahmed (@Roohan_Ahmed) September 18, 2021
Scenes outside Jamia Hafsa in Islamabad after policemen arrived at the seminary to remove Afghan Taliban’s flag from its rooftop. Red Mosque’s Maulana Abdul Aziz can be seen carrying a weapon pic.twitter.com/jkJ8XH5R1v
— Roohan Ahmed (@Roohan_Ahmed) September 18, 2021
From the video that emerged, it appeared that Abdul Aziz warned the policemen who came for removing the Taliban flag against doing so, and told them that the Pakistani Taliban would never forgive them. He also told the policemen that if this is what they are supposed to do then they should quit their jobs and (Allah) would give them even better jobs. “Iss naukri ko chhodo… Allah aur achhi naukriyan dega,” he told the cops.
According to reports, Hamza Shafqat, the Deputy Commissioner Islamabad asserted that hoisting of the flags of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan would not be tolerated and the culprit would be punished. Later the flags were removed from the roof of the mosque by the cops. Following the incident, the maulana and his associates have been booked under the Anti-Terrorism Act and different sections of the Pakistan Penal Code by the police.
This is not the first time that the Taliban flags were hoisted at the mosque. Last month also, several Talibani flags were seen on the mosque, which were later removed by the police. After that, the students of the madrassa had even sung a song in the praise of the Taliban. The Lal Masjid-linked Jamia Hafsa had organised an event to celebrate Taliban takeover of Afghanistan, and the students had sung the song ‘Salam Taliban’ in that event.
