ension again gripped Lal Masjid, the headquarters of a hardline group led by Maulana Abdul Aziz, a firebrand cleric, in early March.

As a part of their anti-encroachment drive, the civic authority workers had razed parts of Jamia Hafsa, a seminary for women.

For several months, under the Lal Masjid cleric and his wife, Umme Hassan, Jamia Hafsa was being re-built on a piece of land claimed by the Capital Development Authority. They had been warned against this blatant violation of the law but had chosen to ignore the message. Towards the end of February, things came to a head when Umme Hassan as well as about a dozen of the seminary students were arrested on February 20 on charge of resisting officials in discharge of their duty and attacking some law enforcement officials. More than 100 policemen were deployed on various approaches to the mosque to prevent an untoward incident.

The situation had continued to escalate as some of students from the seminary associated with the mosque allegedly hurled firecrackers at the policemen. In a video clip viral on social media, Aziz was seen threatening policemen with dire consequences. He was seen holding a gun. Aziz allegedly also threatened that a protest movement would follow his (potential)arrest.

This apparently forced the administration’s hand. The whole area was cordoned off and the newly-built portions of Jamia Hafsa were demolished.

Aziz said the administration had demanded the demolition of JamiaHafsa in exchange for the release of Umme Hassan. A senior CDA official denied this claim. The Islamabad police and the city administration declined comment. In the end Umme Hassan was granted bail.

Lal Masjid was built in 1965. Maulana Abdullah, the prayer leader, built his residential quarters next to it. A public library for children was established next to the mosque in the 1980s. In 1992, Jamia Hafsa was built on 7,500 square yards of land designated for a women’s library.

In a video clip viral on social media Aziz is seen threatening policemen with dire consequences. He is seen holding a gun.

Lal Masjid has been a flashpoint for about two decades. In 2007, a military operation was launched to remove militants sheltering there. Abdul Rasheed, a brother of Aziz and some other people were killed in the operation.

In October 2007, the Supreme Court ordered the federal government and the CDA to reconstruct Jamia Hafsa on its original site within a year. However, the order was not complied with. Instead, the government allocated another piece of land for the seminary. Meanwhile, Jamia Hafsa shifted to G-7. It was finally rebuilt in 2022.

Aziz has tried in the past to reconstruct the seminary on the original site. However, this was not allowed by the government. Since then, there have been several stand-offs between students from the seminary and the police. The students continue to demand that JamiaHafsa be rebuilt on the original site.

Muhammad Khalid, who lives close to the mosque, says successive governments have been trying to reach an agreement with Aziz. The previous government had stopped Aziz from delivering the Friday sermon. He resisted and has resumed that role.

“We face problems during such standoffs. Sometimes the roads remain closed for days at end amid threats of violence,” says another resident, Manzoor Shah.

“The government must agree terms with the cleric one and for all, possibly designate another place for Jamia Hafsa so that the tensions are resolved,” he says. “The government should also disallow construction at public places.”

The writer is a staff member. He can be reached at vaqargillani@gmail.com