ISLAMABAD - The former prayer leader Maulana Abdul Aziz Ghazi has evacuated Lal Mosque on Wednesday after a successful negotiation with the district administration, informed a police spokesman.
He added the former cleric of Lal Mosque Maulana Abdul Aziz Ghazi had left the mosque along with some of his men and proceeded to Jamia Hafsa located in G-7/3-2. He also added that Ume Hassan, Incharge Jamia Hafsa and widow of Maulana Abdul Rashid Ghazi, along with the seminary students also went to the seminary.
According to him, the meeting between the district government high ups, senior police officers and the former Khateeb of Lal Mosque was held peacefully during which the occupants left the mosque.
Talking to The Nation, a senior police officer said that they have restored peace in the area after holding a talk with the former prayer leader. He said that the officers of district administration including Deputy Commissioner also attended the meeting. A day earlier, firebrand speaker Maulana Abdul Aziz Ghazi along with 200 people, including seminary students, some teenagers and gunmen, had occupied Lal Mosque forcefully while putting the district administration and the police high ups on toes.
Following orders of Inspector General of Police Islamabad Dr Akbar Nasir Khan and DIG Operations Sohail Zafar Chattha, a heavy contingent of police had rushed to the mosque and cordoned off the area besides blocking roads leading towards the mosque with barbed wires and other obstacles. The Islamabad Capital Traffic Police, under command of SSP Traffic Syed Mustafa Tanvir, also put in place a special traffic plan on the occasion and diverted all the traffic on alternative routes in order to maintain law and order.