n August 9-10, acting together, Islamabad police, the Capital Development Authority and local administration demolished Madni Mosque, located near Rawal Dam Chowk on Murree Road. The operation was well-planned and swift. The rubble was cleared almost immediately and some saplings were planted at the site before dawn.

According to the city administration, the mosque had been built on a piece of state land. It was thus categorised as an “illegal encroachment.”

Demolition of the mosque, which had been functional for years, soon became a point of conflict.

On the morning following the demolition, some men visited the site, uprooted the saplings and set up a protest camp. They demanded that the mosque be rebuilt. They had brought straw mats with them. They said they would continue to offer their prayers at the contested site.

The demolition proved politically costly as protestors soon thronged the location. Radical religious groups and members of right-wing political parties soon joined them, declaring that the demolition was “anti-Islamic.” Some clerics then warned the federal government against “demolishing mosques and seminaries in Islamabad.”

“We will not accept this,” a young man with a beard was seen saying in a video that surfaced on social media. Representatives of Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam Fazl (JUIF) took the lead in negotiating with the Interior Ministry.

A complaint was also lodged at the local police station seeking registration of a case against the interior minister, the CDA chairman, the deputy commissioner, the inspector general of police and other officials of the capital administration for “hurting religious sentiments.”

Next, workers of some religious groups started the construction work on their own. They also gathered at the site to offer Friday prayers.

They claimed that the mosque had existed for decades and insisted that it should not have been demolished. The clerics demanded that the mosque be rebuilt at exactly the original location within four months.

The CDA had, over the past several weeks, removed hundreds of food stalls and shops as parts of its anti-encroachment drive despite protests by the vendors and other affected people.

The city administration, according to some reports, had also identified as many as 50 such mosques on green belts as “illegal encroachments.” The administration later denied the claim.

Ten days in, the clerics who had united under the banner of the Ulema Action Committee, the police and the CDA reached an agreement.

The CDA said it would rebuild the mosque within four months and that during this period, arrangements for daily prayers would be made at the site mutual consultation.

The agreement clarified that the report about 50 illegal mosques in Islamabad being demolished was “false.” Both sides agreed to approach future mosque-related matters in consultation with each other.

Earlier, the administration had claimed that the administration of Madni Mosque and seminary had been informed about the demolition and they had agreed to it.

Interior Minister Talal Chaudhry told the media that the seminary was demolished with the consent of its management. He said that a new facility capable of housing 200 students had been built at an alternative location at a cost of Rs 40 million.

He said the relocation process had been initiated in January after months of dialogue with the seminary administration.

“A newly constructed, modern facility—valued at Rs 40 million—was completed at the end of last July to accommodate the relocated seminary,” he said, adding that 185 students, along with their belongings, had been shifted to the new premises.

The entire process, he told the parliament, was supervised by the seminary’s management and documented to avoid any misunderstanding.

However, clerics claimed there was no agreement on razing of the mosque and only the seminary adjacent to the mosque was to be shifted to Margalla Town.

A tent has now been erected at the site of the Madni Mosque and arrangements have been made to facilitate people who come to offer their prayers.

While the construction of the mosque is yet to begin, a demarcation of the plot can be seen at the site. Excavation to lay a concrete foundation, has already begun. A man representing the clerics keeps 24x7 watch.

Some of the people who lost their businesses due to the anti-encroachment drive are questioning the local administration’s “capitulation” before the protestors.

“It is unfair that people who weaponise religion are beyond the authorities’ reach. Why is the state helpless when it comes to them?” asks Muhammad Hanif, a vendor whose food stall was razed during the anti-encroachment drive. “Why are they [the mullahs] an exception to all rules?”

“If my stall was an ‘illegal encroachment’ then so was that mosque,” he says. “I have not earned a proper living for three weeks. My family is starving because the government failed to provide me an alternative. However, it provided one to the clerics.”

“Shouldn’t it be the same rule for every one?” he asks.

Several attempts to reach the CDA spokesman and the local administration were unsuccessful. A CDA speaking anonymously said that the authority had nothing to do with the matter. A police spokesman declined the request for comment.

The author is a staff reporter. He can be reached at vaqargillani@gmail.com