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Ghazi’s brother predicts Islamic revolution

Nirupama Subramanian

ISLAMABAD: Abdul Rashid Ghazi, the militant cleric who was killed in a fierce firefight inside the Lal Masjid as commandos stormed the mosque to end a six-month stand-off, was buried in his village in southern Punjab on Thursday.

In the capital, officials buried at least 69 bodies recovered by security forces from the Lal Masjid after a 40-hour battle. The bodies were lowered into graves after being photographed, finger-printed, and DNA samples taken from them, officials said.

Abdul Aziz, the brother of Ghazi, who was arrested trying to flee the Lal Masjid in the early days of the siege, led the funeral prayers. Ghazi, and Mr. Aziz’s two sons, who were also killed in the fighting, were buried in a seminary in village Rojhan Mazari.

Hundreds of people attended the funerals, chanting slogans in his support and against the Government. Mr. Aziz is reported to have said the death of his brother, sons and others died fighting would not be wasted. He said it would motivate others to fight for an Islamic revolution, which would not be long in coming. “There will be many more Ghazis,” he said. Ghazi is a title that is given to fighters who return alive after winning a jihad, and his brother took it after r eturning from the Afghan jihad against the Soviet army.

There was massive security at the funeral, and Mr. Aziz was whisked away by officials soon after.

In the capital, the burials of the bodies that were recovered from Lal Masjid took place amid reports, rumours and speculation that the Government was hiding the real numbers of people killed inside the mosque.

Military spokesman Major-General Waheed Arshad said security forces found a total of 75 bodies in the Lal Masjid-Jamia Hafsa complex. According to him, 19 bodies were “unrecognisable”.

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