Pervez Musharraf. PHOTO: FILE
ISLAMABAD: Witnesses recorded their statements with the police team investigating Lal Masjid murder case on Sunday, and alleged that Musharraf was responsible for all the killings inside the mosque during the 2007 operation.
Despite the fact that all matters had been settled through talks between government’s delegation and the Lal Masjid inmates led by Abdur Rashid Ghazi, the military went ahead with the operation, the witnesses said in their respective statements.
The talks were a ‘drama’ and the military operation was ‘pre-planned’ as then president and military chief Pervez Musharraf never wanted a peaceful solution, they emphasised.
However, none of the witnesses confirmed about being physically present inside the mosque at any time during the seven days the military operation lasted. They quoted from their conversations with their respective relatives from inside the mosque compound.
“The talks were staged only to show the world that Musharraf had exhausted all other options. In fact, he never wanted the talks to succeed,” said Binte Abdullah in her statement. She is the younger sister of Lal Masjid’s slain deputy cleric Abdul Rashid Ghazi.
As evidence of Musharraf’s intentions of ‘killing Ghazi and other inmates,’ Binte Abdullah told the investigation team that even Imam-e-Kaaba was not allowed to meet her brother who was trapped inside the mosque compound. “Instead, the government went on to falsely publicise through media that Ghazi had even turned down the Imam-e-Kaaba’s request to surrender.”
Published in The Express Tribune, October 28th, 2013.
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@Asad Khan: You are sadly mistaken and wilfully ignoring the facts - which are the mosque was full of militants brandishing military weapons. They looted, plundered, and terrorized the citizens of Islamabad and when ordered to lay down their weapons they chose to take up an insurrection and ended up killing soldiers. NO government in the civilized world would have given them the time that Musharraf did to surrender. In the end it was a just action by the government, and unfortunately 100% of the responsibility for the consequences lies with the Ghazi family. A mosque is a place of peaceful worship, not a militant fortress. We need to end this taliban state of mind and live like civilized citizens. If you have a peeve against the government then take it to the courts, but if you take up weapons against it then be ready for the consequences which will be lethal.
He should be hanged everyone knows that hes the one responsible for Lal Masjid OP
This investigation is a farce. The whole event was so well documented by the electronic media leaving absolutely no doubt as to how the events unfolded.The judiciary is involved in extrajudicial decisions. Their comments / actions are not based on law. They are more focused on taking popular decisions and settling scores with the dictator who sent them home. These are the dark days in the judicial history of Pakistan.