Cultic Studies Review, Vol. 8, No. 3, 2009, Page 27
same ideas and resorting to the same Quranic verses or traditions that the brothers used.
The brothers had spent years indoctrinating children to hate other Muslims (Shias, Barelvis,
secular or liberal Muslims), to change their appearance (from traditional to neoconservative
in the Wahhabi fashion), and to believe that fighting was the better way for changing the
world. The school had been a place for training jihad soldiers, and they were ready for the
war between good and evil.
It must also be said that all this happened at a time when the government was in serious
trouble and was allowing things to happen so as to divert attention from the nation‘s real
problems. Thus, the two brothers were in a way misled by some sectors of the Intelligence
agencies (with whom they had lots of contacts) so that they could feel free to challenge the
State. A bad government in Pakistan can always point to such open rebellion to justify
military control and to seek foreign support.
The Final Confrontation
On July 3, 2007, the government decided to take action. Under the name of ―Operation
Sunrise,‖ the army was deployed around the Mosque for eight days. Traffic was diverted
from the area and neighbors were told not to go out after noon, given the curfew imposed
in the area. Soldiers had orders to shoot anyone outside after the curfew. The government‘s
patience was finally exhausted when some students stole weapons and communication sets
from army Rangers and attacked the Ministry of Environment building. Those in the Mosque
received several deadlines to vacate it, and several students left during this standoff.
At the time of the attack, the Mosque‘s loudspeakers carried the voice of Abdul Aziz, calling:
Come and smell the fragrance of the blood of those who have already
embraced martyrdom. Paradise is waiting for them, and paradise is waiting
for all of us who are going to receive martyrdom soon.
By the time the government took action, it was already too late. Crowds of different militant
groups had settled in and used the confrontation with the State for their own purposes.
Their traditional peripheral position had become central, and achieving victory would mean
a great boost for the country‘s insurgency. The Mosque became a rallying point for different
militants, and Taliban from different areas had locked themselves inside with the students.
It appears that they were extending their time there by using the lives of the students as a
bargaining chip. Nobody knows how such a large number of weapons got inside the Mosque.
Militants apparently prepared for weapon storage before they were put under siege.
Desperate parents started arriving in Islamabad when they heard their children were being
held hostage inside the premises of the Mosque. They were frightened by the threats of
suicide attacks or an assault by the authorities, given the military‘s presence. Many of the
children managed to escape following the end of the different deadlines set by the
government, but about 300 to 400 remained inside, together with the different fighters,
whom some number up to 100. One of the brothers tried to escape with a group of girls,
hiding under a burka, while the other one died inside.
There are contradictory declarations from witnesses and some of the students. Parents told
authorities that some children were being held hostages the leaders of the mosque said
that children were free to go home and some jihadi propagandists spoke about the
willingness of all students to die there. One piece of propaganda showed a girl with blood on
her hands, crying for the fate of her dead companions and the fact that she could not be
martyred there with them. Such images were shown in several places to enhance the
feeling of deprivation and injustice to common and innocent Muslim children so as to inspire
others to follow the path of jihad. They blindly believed that thousands of Muslims from the
tribal areas and Kashmir would join them in a holy army. They were wrong. Most madrassas
did not back the brothers‘ statements none joined them. The two brothers perhaps realized
same ideas and resorting to the same Quranic verses or traditions that the brothers used.
The brothers had spent years indoctrinating children to hate other Muslims (Shias, Barelvis,
secular or liberal Muslims), to change their appearance (from traditional to neoconservative
in the Wahhabi fashion), and to believe that fighting was the better way for changing the
world. The school had been a place for training jihad soldiers, and they were ready for the
war between good and evil.
It must also be said that all this happened at a time when the government was in serious
trouble and was allowing things to happen so as to divert attention from the nation‘s real
problems. Thus, the two brothers were in a way misled by some sectors of the Intelligence
agencies (with whom they had lots of contacts) so that they could feel free to challenge the
State. A bad government in Pakistan can always point to such open rebellion to justify
military control and to seek foreign support.
The Final Confrontation
On July 3, 2007, the government decided to take action. Under the name of ―Operation
Sunrise,‖ the army was deployed around the Mosque for eight days. Traffic was diverted
from the area and neighbors were told not to go out after noon, given the curfew imposed
in the area. Soldiers had orders to shoot anyone outside after the curfew. The government‘s
patience was finally exhausted when some students stole weapons and communication sets
from army Rangers and attacked the Ministry of Environment building. Those in the Mosque
received several deadlines to vacate it, and several students left during this standoff.
At the time of the attack, the Mosque‘s loudspeakers carried the voice of Abdul Aziz, calling:
Come and smell the fragrance of the blood of those who have already
embraced martyrdom. Paradise is waiting for them, and paradise is waiting
for all of us who are going to receive martyrdom soon.
By the time the government took action, it was already too late. Crowds of different militant
groups had settled in and used the confrontation with the State for their own purposes.
Their traditional peripheral position had become central, and achieving victory would mean
a great boost for the country‘s insurgency. The Mosque became a rallying point for different
militants, and Taliban from different areas had locked themselves inside with the students.
It appears that they were extending their time there by using the lives of the students as a
bargaining chip. Nobody knows how such a large number of weapons got inside the Mosque.
Militants apparently prepared for weapon storage before they were put under siege.
Desperate parents started arriving in Islamabad when they heard their children were being
held hostage inside the premises of the Mosque. They were frightened by the threats of
suicide attacks or an assault by the authorities, given the military‘s presence. Many of the
children managed to escape following the end of the different deadlines set by the
government, but about 300 to 400 remained inside, together with the different fighters,
whom some number up to 100. One of the brothers tried to escape with a group of girls,
hiding under a burka, while the other one died inside.
There are contradictory declarations from witnesses and some of the students. Parents told
authorities that some children were being held hostages the leaders of the mosque said
that children were free to go home and some jihadi propagandists spoke about the
willingness of all students to die there. One piece of propaganda showed a girl with blood on
her hands, crying for the fate of her dead companions and the fact that she could not be
martyred there with them. Such images were shown in several places to enhance the
feeling of deprivation and injustice to common and innocent Muslim children so as to inspire
others to follow the path of jihad. They blindly believed that thousands of Muslims from the
tribal areas and Kashmir would join them in a holy army. They were wrong. Most madrassas
did not back the brothers‘ statements none joined them. The two brothers perhaps realized
