It seems that no matter how hard the government tries, certain issues do not go away. Jamia Hafsa seems to be one of them. The latest controversy has emerged with regard to the rebuilding of the women’s seminary, which was adjacent to the Laal Masjid (Red Mosque) before the municipal authority demolished it after the 2007 military operation. Although conceding to Interior Minister Rehman Malik’s request to delay the foundation-laying ceremony plan by a week to arrange an alternative piece of land for the seminary, Maulana Aziz has warned the government that any delaying tactics could lead to a bloody confrontation similar to the 2007 one, in which 110 suspected militants and several troops were killed. Later, the Supreme Court (SC) in its judgement had given CDA orders to rebuild the female seminary at the same location. However, the CDA was reluctant to comply with the SC’s orders. At the same time, the place originally belongs to the Ministry of Education but had been occupied by Laal Masjid clerics as they had illegally built Jamia Hafsa there. The rift between the CDA and Laal Masjid clerics is expanding day by day and now it has reached a point where, if not handled strongly and decisively, it might result in strengthening the extremist elements in the country’s capital once again. To make the situation more complicated, Laal Masjid’s Imam Maulana Abdul Aziz has refused to accept any alternative place that does not match the price of the land on which Jamia Hafsa was originally built. Given past experiences, his threats have to be taken seriously. With due respect to the SC, its decision in this regard is being seen as unwise by certain quarters. The teachers and students of this seminary had created a serious breach of the rule of law and practiced vigilante justice in the land. They set up an illegal Shariah court, claiming jurisdiction over the area. The location where the Laal Masjid is situated is a high-security zone, as it is surrounded by buildings and offices of the country’s government and intelligence services. The rebuilding of Jamia Hafsa on the same location is equivalent to giving the extremist elements with a fanatical jihadi mindset another chance to recreate tension in the capital that led the previous government to launch a military operation against them. If rebuilding has to be allowed, then it should be built at another place removed from the heart of the capital. *