The Lal Masjid siege and how it led to Pervez Musharraf’s downfall

Years later while facing a trial for the Lal Masjid siege, Pervez Musharraf disowned responsibility and said he had not ordered the operation

New Delhi, Feb 06: Former President of Pakistan, Pervez Musharraf died at a hospital in Dubai after battling prolonged illness.

Musharraf had resigned as President in 2008 after the ruling coalition had threatened to impeach him. While there were many reasons for his ouster from power, one of the biggest reasons for the same was the 2007 operation at Lal Masjid.

Prior to this he had stoked controversy when he decided to declare a state of emergency. He was also accused of playing a role in the assassination of former Pakistan prime minister, Benazir Bhutto.

Lal Masjid:

According to several experts, one of the biggest reasons for the downfall of Musharraf was the Lal Masjid operation in 2007. Not did only did the operation in Islamabad change the fate of Musharraf, but it also had a telling effect on his relationship with the Islamist militancy. The operation was one of the biggest reasons for the dreaded Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) to rise.

Since being founded in 1965, Lal Masjid has been a platform for Islamist extremism. The founder Abdullah Ghazi, shared close ties with former dictator of Pakistan, General Zia-ul-Haq. He was also known for his speeches on Jihad.

The Lal Masjid was also known for providing scores of Mujahideen to Afghanistan at the time of the Soviet occupation.

The complex was taken over by Abdul Aziz and Abdul Rashid after Ghazi was assassinated in 1988. By that time the complex had expanded and it even had a Madrassa for women in it called the Jamia Haas.

The BBC had said in a report that Aziz and Rashid shared good ties with leaders of the Al-Qaeda, including Osama Bin Laden. They later denied their links after America began a war on terror post the 9/11 attacks.

Calls for assassination:

Once Musharraf declared support to America, calls for his assassination were made. This led to clashes, violence and demonstrations. Kidnappings and armed clashes were also reported.

In 2007 the situation began to worsen, when the male and female students of the complex raided a massage parlour in Islamabad on the allegation that it was a brothel. They kidnapped nine people working there, which included seven Chinese nationals. While they were released, the Chinese authorities put pressure on the Pakistan government to take action against the culprits.

The siege:

The Dawn had reported that the Pakistan military had for months 'hesitated' to take action against the leaders and students of Lal Masjid due to the close ties that were shared. On July 3 2007, the armed forces backed by tanks and artillery guns surrounded Lal Masjid on the orders of President Musharraf.

The students and terrorists inside the complex opened fire on the Pakistani troops and also set ablaze the Ministry of Environment building near the complex. On July 7, the conflict worsened when a sniper positioned inside a minaret shot dead Lieutenant-Colonel, Haroon Islam, the commander of the Special Forces leading the operation. He died at a hospital on July 8.

Angered by the same, the Pakistan troops entered the premises of Lal Masjid and Jamia Hafisa and commenced, 'Operation Silence.'

During the operations the forces found operatives of the Lashkar-e-Tayiba, Jaish-e-Mohammad and Harkat-ul-Jihadi Islami with Ak-47s, hand grenades, petrol bombs and rocket launchers.

Over 100 persons including commandos lost their lives in this operation. The Mosque was also severely damaged.

Turning against Musharraf:

Following the siege, Islamic hardliners turned against Musharraf and the Al-Qaeda's then number-2, Ayman al-Zawahiri vowed revenge.

In the first year of the siege, over 88 bombings were carried out by terror groups in which 1,188 people had been killed and 3,209 wounded.

These only added to Musharaff's problems and ultimately a year after the Lal Masjid operation, he resigned as president of Pakistan. While he had faced a trial regarding the incident, he disowned his responsibility and denied ordering the operation.