Islamabad, July 10
Hours before he was killed today in a massive military operation by Pakistani forces, the deputy head of Lal Masjid Abdul Rashid Ghazi alleged that the action against him was being orchestrated by the US.

The 43-year-old fiery cleric claimed that former Prime Minister Shujaat Hussain, also the chief of ruling PML-Q, and Religious Affairs Minister Ijazul Haq, who held talks with him over phone yesterday, wanted him to bow down and had threatened to launch the military operation against the militants inside the Lal Masjid.

As the security forces suddenly launched the operation soon after Hussain announced the failure of talks at a nationally televised press conference, Ghazi appeared on TV chaannels at 0400 hrs. undaunted by the heavy explosions that rocked the besieged mosque complex in the heart of this city.

“I said to Shujaat (Hussain) that kill us, but people will not allow you to go in peace,” Ghazi, who was reportedly holed up in a basement bunker, told Geo TV, using a mobile given to him by the negotiators.

Referring to ‘Operation Silence’, the codename of the military operation against the Lal Masjid, Ghazi said, “This is gross injustice. The people conducting the operation are American agents and are carrying it out on the US’ bidding. Now I am sure to be martyred soon.”

Asked what would be his message as the operation got underway, “the prevalent system is creating problems, where some families are in possession of powers and are afflicting everybody with misery. These problems will stay unresolved until the Islamic system is established.”

Ghazi criticised a number of clerics, including the head of the outlawed militant group Harakatul Mujahideen Fazalur Rehman Khulil, who he said had tried to persuade him to opt for a negotiated settlement to end the eight-day-old siege.

“The ulema (Islamic clerrics) expressed fear and they did not want to take any stand. They should have sided with the truth,” he said. “We did not commit any crime for which we are being punished so tremendously. The government is using naked aggression with reckless blind force against us. — PTI