What Lies Beneath: Dispatch from the Frontlines of the Burqa Brigades

Funeral prayer of Lt. Col. Haroon Islam offered in Lahore
Updated at 2040 PST
LAHORE: The funeral prayer of Shaheed Lt. Col. Haroon Islam of Pakistan Army’s special services group, who was killed in the Lal Masjid operation, has been offered in Ayub Stadium, located in Lahore Cantt. Area. He will be laid in the graveyard of the martyrs of 3 Sindh Regiment.

Besides, the Governor of Punjab, civil and military officials including high officials of Army, Navy and Air Force were also present in the prayer.

Ghazi killed in operation silence: Reports
Updated at 1855 PST
ISLAMABAD: The deputy chief of Lal mosque Abdul Rasheed Ghazi has been killed in operation silence lunched against the militants holed up in the Lal mosque, the Interior ministry sources said on Tuesday.

A bullet had hit in a leg of Ghazi during gunfire and he was also asked to surrender after he was injured but he refused and was ultimately killed, some sources said.

Mr. Ghazi was killed in firing by some militants who were hiding along with him when he came out of a bunker and was heading to surrender, the other reports said.

Meanwhile, Interior Secretary Syed Kamal Shah has confirmed that the deputy chief of Lal mosque Abdul Rasheed Ghazi was killed in operation silence lunched against the militants holed up in the Lal mosque.

Ghazi was killed in a bunker as a result of cross firing during the operation silence, he said while talking to Gen News.

The military authorities have also confirmed the death of Abdul Rasheed Ghazi.

Abdul Rashid Ghazi, a militant Islamic cleric who had vowed to die with his students inside an Islamabad mosque rather than surrender to Pakistani forces, once had a relatively moderate lifestyle.

Ghazi, the deputy leader of the Red Mosque, was holed up in a basement with several women and children on Tuesday after troops raided the compound, officials said. At least 58 people have died in the assault.

#572 by zeemax on July 10, 2007 8:12am PT


be more close to the ``ground-realities``


your jihadi buddies and ninja chix sistas are closer the the underground realities...6 ft underground realities...

chennai: I can ``quibble`` all I want with fellow Pakistanis. However, I have no interest in the views of pandit-hates like you from India, and you are welcome to believe whatever makes you happy. That is no problem for us Pakistanis.

Re: # 595

What the hell is ``pandit hates``.........I think you have been skipping not only your medicines but also various posts here.........Pls do rectify that, if possible........

Hamidm

My family is no different. We all pray to different gods, and have fun discussing why each one of us does what he or she does. It`s a complete zoo! :)

hamidm #561 ``.......... it is a shame and a crime that innocent security forces people had to die because they wanted to save women who will now go out to bear more jihadis, and children who will grow up to become bloody murderers ........... all those miserable lives are not worth one dead pakistani soldier ......... ``

Wrong again.

First, Lt. Col. Haroon ul Islam laid down his life at the head of his men, and attempting to free women and children from the ghoondas hiding behind them. This is in the finest of military traditions. While a tragedy for his family, no doubt, he has also made all true Pakistanis proud. The only shame is that you are unable to see anything postive in Pakistan. I am proud that all Pakistanis - musharraf, religious parties, non-religious parties, ordinary citizens, and above all our brave military soldiers - did their utmost to save those precious lives. We can only pray that these hafsa women and the parents who placed their trust in these maulvis will have learnt something from this episode.

Second, every life is precious as your own. Those women and children and even young men misled by the power-hungry maulvis may have been misled, but that does not make their lives any less precious as that of any other individual on earth.

Re: # 589

tahmed,

``Those women and children and even young men misled by the power-hungry maulvis may have been misled, but that does not make their lives any less precious as that of any other individual on earth. ``

........... i beg to disagree - these people were not misled; nobody came to their homes and forced them to send their children to the madrassa........... they did it because they `believe` in this insidous ideology that tom friedman mentions ............ and no, their lives are not as precious as col haroon`s - he was a fine soldier who did his duty but the loss of his life was unnecessary ........ the women and children he was trying to save will not thank him - as a matter of fact if they had the chance, they would try to kill him ............. he died because the government wanted to limit the political damage ......

Re: # 589

Tahmed......stop quibbling......are you a moron who cannot understand the implications of these forces that were unleashed......and their implications on the kids.......the future citizens of Pakistan.

Qatl-e-Abdul Rashid asal mein marg-e-Pervez Musharraf. Islam zinda hota hai har Karbala ke baad.

#570 by hamidm2,

...... as someone on bbc pointed out this morning, there are two pakistans -

That is true. And I have said this many times. There`s one Pakistan you know well, but there`s another Pakistan you know nothing about.

#577 by hamidm2,

Hamidm, if you call these kids indoctrinated, how do you explain that nearly all parents sitting outside, when asked why didn`t they take their children home when the siege first began, said their kids were doing nothing wrong. Some even said they were not there to take away their children, but their bodies.

Re: # 584

zeemax,

... that`s why i suggested that the government should take away these children from their parents ........ like you, these people belong to the school of death - the other `mindset` that kaal talks about ...............

Urstruly 578 You always sounded hollow when berating the Pakistan army for doing anything to oppose the foreign ghoondas trying to take over the tribal areas. But never as hollow as now, when berating the Pakistan army for taking out these two-taka thugs in lal masjid dreaming of becoming khalifas of Pakistan.

With the distraction provided by these ghoondas taken care of, Pakistanis can get back to the struggle for democracy.

Re: # 582

I did not berate our victorious glorious army, I instead send salams for getting us rid of the threat to civilization caused by these 8th, 10th, and 12th graders. And if you insist I can also salute na-pak fouj for putting an end to the ``distraction`` for good, which was getting in the way of the movement for democracy against themselves.

hamdim

``as someone on bbc pointed out this morning, there are two pakistans.``

That`s a very old idea. The Atlantic Weekly archives might hold some very good articles on that theme. In Pakistan the question has always been (as clear to outsiders) which of the two very different Pakistans will pull the other closer to itself (hopefully, avoiding bloodshed).

India`s diversity is more on the surface. Your diversity is of real mindsets.