Maulana Abdul Aziz barred from leading Friday prayers after strenuous negotiations

ISLAMABAD - The deposed cleric of Lal Masjid, Maulana Abdul Aziz was not allowed to lead Friday prayers and deliver the weekly sermon in the mosque after the capital administration held hours-long negotiations with him.

As many as five rounds of talks between the administration and the cleric started on Friday morning following which the officials told the media that the maulana had agreed not to visit the mosque.

One of the ICT officials said the cleric insisted that it was his right to deliver a sermon at the mosque.

"His plan was that he would go to the mosque in the form of a procession along with a few vehicles loaded with women students but we did not succumb to any pressure," the official added.

The administration informed maulana Aziz about illegal construction of new Jamia Hafsa over a natural stream, urging him to clear it first as a dutiful citizen.

The negotiations came as Shuhada Foundation of Lal Masjid had announced on May 8 that Maulana Aziz would lead the Friday prayers and deliver a sermon, after a gap of over three years.

However, as Maulana Aziz did not go to Lal Masjid, the Friday prayers were led by Amir Siddique, the deputy cleric.

The government had deposed Maulana Aziz from the state-owned Lal Masjid after he delivered a controversial sermon in 2014, defending the perpetrators of the Army Public School Peshawar attack, calling it a reactionary move by terrorists.

There have been repeated attempt in recent past by the cleric to consolidate his position over the affairs of the seminary, however, he has not been successful to this day.

In February 2017, Lal Masjid announced its disassociation from outlawed Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan faction Jamaatul Ahrar after the terror group launched strikes in Pakistan named after Abdul Rasheed Ghazi, the brother of Maulana Aziz who was killed in 2007 military operation on Lal Masjid.

Maulana Abdul Aziz's relatives barred from holding press conference at Lal Masjid

In March 2017, the cleric announced to hold a conference in Lal Masjid against blasphemous content on the social media; the government did not allow it.

In August 2017, the relatives of the deposed Lal Masjid cleric were stopped from holding a press conference by the ICT administration on the basis that mosques should not be politicised.

During the latest discussions on Friday, scores of women clad in black burqas kept an eye on the situation from the windows and rooftops of the new Jamia Hafsa.

On the other hand, women police commandos and Rangers also roamed in the street nearby the centre.