Islamabad, July 04: Pakistans former Tourism
Minister Nilofar Bakhtiar has said that extremism was on the
rise in the country with the radical Lal Masjid here becoming
a "state within a state."
Urging the Pakistan Supreme Court to take suo motu
action against the Lal Masjid administration for issuing a
"false fatwa" against her, Bakhtiar said the radical mosque in
central Islamabad had become a "state within a state."
Expressing alarm at the rapid rise of extremism in
Pakistan, the former minister said that if no action was taken
by the apex court, she would initiate civil and criminal
proceedings against the mosque for damaging her reputation and
her political career.
She pointed out that she had already served a legal
notice on the so-called "Sharia court" established by the Lal
Masjid administration, but the radical clerics had not
apologized to her.
In regard to the government's reluctance to order
crackdown on the radical Madrassa students and clerics over
the last few months, Bakhtiar said this query should be put to
president Pervez Musharraf.
Senator Bakhtiar regretted that neither the government
nor her Pakistan Muslim League (PNL-Q) party supported her,
leaving her with no option but to resign from the cabinet, the
Dawn daily said in a report from New York.
While in office, the senator said, she had
courageously advocated the cause of women's rights, something
which no one in the present government appreciated.
She told media persons that Pakistan's system could not
be changed with big landlords running the show.
Bakhtiar had served a legal notice on the Lal
Masjid "Sharia court" last month for issuing a fatwa, alleging
that the decree had damaged her reputation, family honour and
political career.
Bureau Report
First Published: Wednesday, July 04, 2007, 00:00