Islamabad, June 29: The radical seminary involved in a stand-off with the government over a Taliban-style moral policing is no more recognised by the board that oversees these institutions in Pakistan, a top Islamic cleric visiting the US has said.
The Jamia Hafsa Seminary, which is linked to the Lal Masjid in Islamabad and centre of a campaign for the enforcement of Sharia in the country for the past several months, is no more recognised by the board that oversees madrassas (seminary) in Pakistan, said Qari Mohammed Hanif Jalandhry, a member of a delegation of clerics visiting Washington.
"While we sympathise with several of their demands, we strongly disagree with their method of achieving those objectives. Islam does not condone coercive measures," said Jalandhry, a member of the Central Council of Ittehad Tanzeemat Madaris Deenia.
The Pakistani delegation is visiting the US to brief US lawmakers, officials, academics and other members of the American society on the state of religious schools in Pakistan.
The activities of the radical seminaries of Lal Masjid -- Jamia Hafsa and Jamia Faridia in Islamabad -- came up at almost every discussion the delegation attended in Washington and also during their visit to the Capitol Hill on Wednesday.
The US lawmakers also quizzed the delegation about the concept of jehad in Islam, particularly the difference between jehad and terrorism, suicide attacks, and the Taliban movement in Afghanistan, the Dawn Daily said in a report from Washington.
"It is wrong to blame a nation or a religion for the crimes committed by a few individual, Maulana Mufti Muneeb-ur-Rehman, President of Tanzeemul Madaris, told US lawmakers.
Bureau Report
Radical madrassa in Islamabad
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JeM behind Lal Masjid stand-off: Musharraf
Islamabad, June 30: Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf has said that banned militant outfit Jaish-e-Mohammed (JEM), having links with Al-Qaida, is behind the current stand-off over the Lal Masjid siege.
Security experts perceive Jaish-e-Mohammed as the principal terrorist organisation in Jammu and Kashmir.
The JeM`s suicide bombers are "holed up" in the mosque, Musharraf said while speaking to the media on Saturday after his address to the National Defence College.
Musharraf said militants of JEM were hiding in the mosque. "They are indoctrinated people. There are also people associated with Jaish-e-Mohammed. They have explosives," he was quoted as saying.
"Many of them are ready to carry out suicide attacks," he added.
Musharraf said the government had tried to resolve the standoff through negotiations to avoid bloodshed in the sprawling mosque complex, which also houses a madrassa for girl students.
Musharraf told the media workshop that he addressed earlier that he had invited Imam-e-Kaaba, the highest priest of Islam, to intercede between the government and two brothers, Ghazi Abdur Rashid and Maulana Abdul Aziz, who are in control of Lal Masjid.
"Action is ready but timing is important," he said. "I am not a coward ... but the issue is tomorrow you will say what have you done. There are women and children inside," he said.
Musharraf said extremism was the "gravest threat" to Pakistan and that would address the nation next week on measures to combat it. According to Pakistani media reports, the government had planned to evict girl students, holed up in the Lal Masjid complex since March, by sending women commandos. But the idea was given up in favour of negotiations.
However, talks by ruling Pakistan Muslim League (Qaid) chief Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain have failed.
JeM, or The Army of Mohammed, is a major Islamist militant body with headquarters in Pakistan. It was formed in 1994 with the avowed aim of ending India`s "occupation" of Jammu and Kashmir and has carried out numerous attacks.
The group was formed after the supporters of Maulana Masood Azhar split from another militant organisation, Harkut-ul-Mujahideen.
It is believed that the group gets considerable funding from Pakistani expatriates in the United Kingdom. The group is regarded as a terrorist organisation by several countries including India, United States and Britain.
Maulana Azhar was one of four militants released in 1999 when an Indian Airlines aircraft was hijacked and taken to Kandahar in Afghanistan, then ruled by the Taliban. He was found to have returned to Pakistan to continue his activities.
Bureau Report
Islamabad, June 30: Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf has said that banned militant outfit Jaish-e-Mohammed (JEM), having links with Al-Qaida, is behind the current stand-off over the Lal Masjid siege.
Security experts perceive Jaish-e-Mohammed as the principal terrorist organisation in Jammu and Kashmir.
The JeM`s suicide bombers are "holed up" in the mosque, Musharraf said while speaking to the media on Saturday after his address to the National Defence College.
Musharraf said militants of JEM were hiding in the mosque. "They are indoctrinated people. There are also people associated with Jaish-e-Mohammed. They have explosives," he was quoted as saying.
"Many of them are ready to carry out suicide attacks," he added.
Musharraf said the government had tried to resolve the standoff through negotiations to avoid bloodshed in the sprawling mosque complex, which also houses a madrassa for girl students.
Musharraf told the media workshop that he addressed earlier that he had invited Imam-e-Kaaba, the highest priest of Islam, to intercede between the government and two brothers, Ghazi Abdur Rashid and Maulana Abdul Aziz, who are in control of Lal Masjid.
"Action is ready but timing is important," he said. "I am not a coward ... but the issue is tomorrow you will say what have you done. There are women and children inside," he said.
Musharraf said extremism was the "gravest threat" to Pakistan and that would address the nation next week on measures to combat it. According to Pakistani media reports, the government had planned to evict girl students, holed up in the Lal Masjid complex since March, by sending women commandos. But the idea was given up in favour of negotiations.
However, talks by ruling Pakistan Muslim League (Qaid) chief Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain have failed.
JeM, or The Army of Mohammed, is a major Islamist militant body with headquarters in Pakistan. It was formed in 1994 with the avowed aim of ending India`s "occupation" of Jammu and Kashmir and has carried out numerous attacks.
The group was formed after the supporters of Maulana Masood Azhar split from another militant organisation, Harkut-ul-Mujahideen.
It is believed that the group gets considerable funding from Pakistani expatriates in the United Kingdom. The group is regarded as a terrorist organisation by several countries including India, United States and Britain.
Maulana Azhar was one of four militants released in 1999 when an Indian Airlines aircraft was hijacked and taken to Kandahar in Afghanistan, then ruled by the Taliban. He was found to have returned to Pakistan to continue his activities.
Bureau Report