Daily Times

ISLAMABAD: The religious elite of the capital city expressed extreme displeasure over the ongoing process of reverification of mosque management committees and also cast their doubts over the expected policy of the CDA regarding the same subject. A large number of clerics representing all religious schools of thought met with the Mayor of Islamabad Shaikh Ansar Aziz here at the headquarters of the Capital Development Authority (CDA). Federal Minister for Religious Affairs Sardar Muhammad Yousaf and State Minister for Religious Affairs Pir Amin-ul-Hasnat were also present on the occasion.

Recently, the ICT administration has initiated a reverification process in Sector D-12 to find out that whether already constituted management committees of the mosques comprised local people or not. The process was launched in response to complaints received from the local residents of the respective areas, who informed the administration that mostly people in the management committees of mosques were strangers for the community.

The residents demanded their representation in the management committees as they were the bonafide purchaser of plots in the area. They consider it their right to run the affairs of mosques. On the other side, the CDA is also preparing to approve a policy on the allocation of mosque plots in the residential sectors to the original inhabitants instead of strangers.

Though, the religious leaders took up several issues during the meeting including preservation of old mosques, permission of extension in already developed mosques, renovation of abandoned mosques operational under Auqaf Department, allotment of alternative plots for mosques situated in the right of the way, provision of utilities connections in unauthorised mosques, but the main focus was to stop the process of reverification in Sector D-12. They were of the view that when the law enforcement agencies had already cleared the management committees then why the same practice was being conducted again by the administration.

It was also recommended by the participants that the markets should be closed during prayer time to effectively enforce Nizam-ul-Salaat in the federal capital. While addressing the participants, the Mayor Shaikh Ansar Aziz assured that any step regarding mosques would be taken in consultation with the federal government and the Ulema.

He said: “CDA will itself build state of the art mosques in new sectors and these will be handed over to management committees through the Auqaf Department.” A committee under the chair of Deputy Mayor Azam Khan has also been constituted unanimously to resolve the problems being faced by the Ulema.

Member Planning CDA, Asad Mehboob Kiani, representatives from each four schools of thought named Dr. Zafer Iqbal Jilali, Pir Mumtaz Ahmed Zia, Mufti Abdul Islam, Mollana Zahoor Ahmed Alvi, Mollana Abubakar, Allama Sajjad Hassan Naqvi and representative from the Auqaf Department Captain Waqas are the member of this committee.

“Although, nothing has been finalised in the meeting, but the religious leaders successfully put pressure on the CDA administration to restrict them from taking any action against unauthorised mosques”, an officer of the authority commented.

Earlier, the Directorate of Urban Planning CDA had proposed a policy for the allotment and regularisation of mosque plots to end the monopoly of stranger elements, but the same was filed to become an agenda in the previous meetings of the CDA board. Currently, there are four types of mosques in Islamabad: legal mosques which are constructed on approved sites and their possession is handed over to the management committee through the proper channel, unauthorised mosques which are constructed on approved sites but without permission, illegal mosques which are constructed on unapproved sites without permission and old mosques which existed in the old villages.