RED MOSQUE MULLAH FREED ON BAIL

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 ISLAMABAD 000816 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/18/2019 TAGS: PREL PTER PGOV PK SUBJECT: RED MOSQUE MULLAH FREED ON BAIL REF: 07 ISLAMABAD 3027 Classified By: Anne W. Patterson for reasons 1.4 (b),(d). ¶1. (C) Summary: On April 17, the Supreme Court released Lal Masjid (Red Mosque) leader Maulana Abdul Aziz on bail. He faces 27 charges of murder, abduction, and forceful occupation of government property. The military operation to retake the Red Mosque from militants in July 2007 left over 100 dead, sparked a wave of suicide bombings across Pakistan, and badly undercut Musharraf's conservative support base. The GOP is seeking cancellation of bail; however, Attorney General Khosa admitted the cases against Aziz were weak and would likely not lead to convictions. Khosa believed that witnesses and judges would be afraid to challenge Aziz, who remains popular among conservative and poor Pakistanis as a populist leader. Aziz led well-attended Friday prayers at the Red Mosque on April 18 and called on his supporters to sacrifice to enforce Shari'a in all of Pakistan. The Red Mosque has long been a haven for militants from a host of banned terrorist groups, and Aziz's release is likely to embolden them to openly defy the writ of government in Islamabad. Khosa indicated that the GOP, fresh from parliamentary endorsement of the Nizam-e-Adl regulations in Swat, could not afford to be tainted by another Red Mosque controversy. Nevertheless, we will press the Interior Minister and the President to at least prevent a resumption of radical activities by the Red Mosque and its related madrassas. End summary. RED MOSQUE CLERIC RELEASED, RETURNS TRIUMPHANT -------------- - ¶2. (SBU) On April 15, the Supreme Court of Pakistan approved the bail petition of former Lal Masjid (Red Mosque) leader Maulana Abdul Aziz. The apex court ordered the release of Aziz on 200,000 PKR (2500 USD) security bond bail. Aziz was being held in his house in Bahria Town (near Rawalpindi) which had served as a sub-jail since his arrest in 2007. Aziz faces 27 charges related to his actions during the Red Mosque operation in July 2007. He has been granted bail in all cases, but still faces the charges. The charges stem from his followers' occupation of a children's public library and resisting police attempts to take over the Red Mosque. Aziz and his brother, Maulana Abdul Rashid Ghazi, led thousands of madrassa students in a several day standoff against police and the military at the Red Mosque in July ¶2007. Ghazi was killed during the military operation and Aziz was arrested while trying to sneak out dressed in a burqa. The siege against the Red Mosque left over 100 people dead, including 11 Pakistani security personnel. In launching the operation then President Musharraf declared "war" on the militants; in turn, they launched a wave a bloody suicide bombings across Pakistan and used the Red Mosque operation to recruit additional followers. ¶3. (SBU) Adiala jail authorities released Aziz on April 16 after he paid his bail to a local anti-terrorism court. Aziz addressed crowds of supporters at the Red Mosque upon his release that evening. He said his force of madrassa students were non-violent and would continue to use non-violence to achieve their goal of enforcing Shari'a in Pakistan. "Islam will not be confined to Swat, it will spread all over Pakistan, then all over the world," proclaimed Aziz. ¶4. (SBU) On April 18, Aziz led Friday prayers at the Red Mosque. The mosque overflowed with people, some traveling from other cities to come see the infamous Aziz. In his sermon, Aziz said that "Nizam-e-Adl" had been enforced in Swat because of the of the sacrifices of Red Mosque supporters. Also he cited parliamentary approval of "Nizam-e-Adl" as proof of why Shari'a should be enforced in all of Pakistan. Aziz, who was known for his fiery sermons including calling for the unleashing of suicide bombers, refrained from calling for the use of force. However, Aziz called on all his supporters to sacrifice and struggle to enforce an Islamic order in Pakistan. After Friday prayers, supporters joined Aziz at the site of demolished madrassa Jamia Hafsa to pray for those who died in the July 2007 operation against the Red Mosque. WEAK CASES, POLITICAL HURDLES -------------- ISLAMABAD 00000816 002 OF 003 ¶5. (C) Attorney General Latif Khosa told PolCouns April 18 that Aziz was facing 27 charges of murder, abduction, and forceful occupation of government property; he had already received bail in 24 cases and this recent decision granted him bail on the last three charges related to the occupation of a Children's Public Library. Khosa said that the initial First Investigation Report (FIR) had presented weak cases without even naming Aziz as a defendant. Aziz had later been added to the charges in a supplementary statement by the Musharraf government. The current PPP government had inherited these very weak cases and the judges had no legal choice but to grant bail in each one. The GOP was now moving for cancellation of bail in some of the charges, according to Khosa. ¶6. (C) In Attorney General Khosa's view, no court was willing to convict Aziz nor were any witnesses willing to testify against him for fear of losing their lives. The conviction of Aziz would also be politically unpopular, with both the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz and Pakistan Muslim League opposing it. Khosa described the Red Mosque operation as the final action that eliminated Musharraf. The Pakistan People's Party (PPP) government, which was already being overwhelmed by extremists, could not afford another Red Mosque standoff. Khosa said the only way the GOP would stand up to Aziz and his extremists would be a unified stand with Nawaz Sharif, and he did not feel that Sharif would publicly oppose Aziz. Khosa recalled how upset he had been when the Red Mosque issue had festered for months before the Musharraf government took any action, but he admitted that the current PPP government probably would face the same dilemma if the Red Mosque started to show its strength again in Islamabad. OUTSIDE OF MADRASSA SYSTEM, BUT LOTS OF SYMPATHY -------------- --- ¶7. (C) During the Red Mosque operation, the affiliated women's madrassa Jamia Hafsa, was razed to the ground. Now Aziz and the female seminary students occupy five houses near the Red Mosque, according to Khosa. Secretary General of Wafaqul Madaris Al-Arabiya Hanif Jallandari, leader of the largest Deobandi madrassa certification board, confirmed to PolOff that both Jamia Hafsa and the associated men's madrassa Jamia Faridia, lost their board certifications during the Red Mosque operation because of their use of violence and their defiance of the government's writ. He also confirmed that there is no move to rectify the Red Mosque-associated madrassas Jallandari and other madrassa leaders did acknowledge that the Red Mosque has a lot of sympathy amongst madrassa students, and after the operation the enrollment at both Jamia Hafsa and Jamia Faridia increased. ¶8. (C) The Red Mosque (Lal Masjid) and its associated madrassas had been increasingly extremist since the 1980's when President Zia ul-Haq patronized the mosque and its previous leader Maulana Abdullah to encourage young Pakistanis to join the jihad against the Soviets. Maulana Abdullah's sons, Abdur Rashid Ghazi and Abdul Aziz, continued his firebrand tradition, and throughout the 1990's the mosque openly claimed ties to the Taliban and al-Qaida. After 9/11, the Red Mosque became increasingly isolated by mainstream religious leaders, religious political parties, and other madrassas. It also became the natural haven for militants from a host of banned extremist groups, such as Sipah-e-Sabah and Jaish-e-Muhammad. Concurrently, the Red Mosque developed a populist agenda by playing to the concerns of working- and lower-class communities who seldom receive adequate government services or effective justice. The July 2007 operation against the Red Mosque was largely unpopular among conservative Muslims in Pakistan and also became a rallying call for extremists and militants. ¶9. (C) Comment: The release of Maulana Abdul Aziz and the weak cases against him epitomize the GOP's inability to successfully convict terrorists who challenge the government's writ. The PPP government is being confronted by terrorists both in tribal areas and now in urban centers, and in such an environment does not have the political capital to clamp down on the Red Mosque. The Red Mosque, located in the heart of upscale Islamabad, offers Pakistani taliban and other terrorists a haven from which to operate. Moreover, ISLAMABAD 00000816 003 OF 003 "Nizam-e-Adl" (Shari'a) in Swat and Aziz's release embolden extremists to push their agenda openly in Islamabad. Despite Khosa's pessimism about the prospects for prosecuting Aziz, we will press the Interior Minister and the President to at least prevent a resumption of radical activities of the Red Mosque and its related madrassas. End comment. PATTERSON