Abdul Rashid Ghazi
Encyclopedia
Abdul Rashid Ghazi was an Islamist Pakistani cleric; son of Maulana Muhammad Abdullah, and younger brother of Abdul Aziz Ghazi
. He was descended from the Sadwani clan
of Mazari tribe
in the town of Rojhan
in Rajanpur
, the border district of Punjab
province of Pakistan
.
Abdul Rashid Ghazi was killed in "intense crossfire" during Operation Silence after Pakistan Army Special Operations Commands's teams stormed the building he and his students had been using.
.
After the assassination of his father inside the mosque in 1998, he and his brother became leaders of Jamia Hafsa
and Jamia Faridia madrassas.
Under the leadership of Ghazi and his brother the mosque and the madrassa attached to it challenged the polices of the Pakistani government; in particular the military operations against pro-Taleban militants in Pakistan's tribal areas. A fatwa issued by the mosque describing militants killed during the campaign as 'martyrs' led to a rapid deterioration in relations between Pervez Musharraf
and Ghazi. The Pakistan government claimed Ghazi was involved in a plot against the president, the army and parliament; however this was later refuted by the government minister for religious affairs.
. According to the ISPR the body of Ghazi was found in the basement of the Lal Masjid.
Abdul Aziz Ghazi
Muhammad Abdul Aziz is a Pakistani cleric, son of Maulana Muhammad Abdullah and elder brother of Abdul Rashid Ghazi. He was the Khateeb in the central mosque of Islamabad known as Lal Masjid, which was the site of a siege in 2007 with the Pakistani army...
. He was descended from the Sadwani clan
Clan
A clan is a group of people united by actual or perceived kinship and descent. Even if lineage details are unknown, clan members may be organized around a founding member or apical ancestor. The kinship-based bonds may be symbolical, whereby the clan shares a "stipulated" common ancestor that is a...
of Mazari tribe
Mazari tribe
The Mazari tribe is one of the oldest Baloch tribes in Pakistan. Mazari means "lion" in Balochi. Rojhan-Mazari, a town in the Rajanpur District of the Punjab near the inter-provincial borders of Balochistan, Sindh and Punjab, is the stronghold of the Mazari tribe.-History:The Mazari tribe is one...
in the town of Rojhan
Rojhan
Rojhan Mazari is situated in District Rajanpur of Punjab at the foot of the Sulaiman Range, near the inter-provincial borders of Balochistan, Sindh and Punjab. This city is the Capital Seat and headquarters of the Mazari Baloch tribe who have held this territory since 1632...
in Rajanpur
Rajanpur
Rajanpur is a city and the headquarters of Rajanpur District in the far southwestern part of Punjab, Pakistan. The district lies entirely west of the Indus River. it is a narrow, to wide strip of land sandwiched between the Indus River on the east and the Sulaiman Mountains on the west. The...
, the border district of Punjab
Punjab (Pakistan)
Punjab is the most populous province of Pakistan, with approximately 45% of the country's total population. Forming most of the Punjab region, the province is bordered by Kashmir to the north-east, the Indian states of Punjab and Rajasthan to the east, the Pakistani province of Sindh to the...
province of Pakistan
Pakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
.
Abdul Rashid Ghazi was killed in "intense crossfire" during Operation Silence after Pakistan Army Special Operations Commands's teams stormed the building he and his students had been using.
Early life
In his youth Abdul Rashid Ghazi defied his father's wish that he receive formal Islamic education as he wanted to live a modern life. He completed his MSc in International Relations from Quaid-e-Azam University Islamabad in 1987-1988. According to one of his professor, "He was a normal, modern student who was well adjusted to a co-educational system.". After finishing this degree he obtained a job at the Ministry of Education in Islamabad, and also worked with UNESCOUNESCO
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations...
.
After the assassination of his father inside the mosque in 1998, he and his brother became leaders of Jamia Hafsa
Jamia Hafsa
Jamia Hafsa is a madrassa adjacent to the Lal Masjid complex in Islamabad, the capital of Pakistan. Known for its anti-government stance and fringe conservatism, it has been criticized for ignoring the main challenges faced by Muslims, and getting involved in publicity stunts like burning CDs and...
and Jamia Faridia madrassas.
Under the leadership of Ghazi and his brother the mosque and the madrassa attached to it challenged the polices of the Pakistani government; in particular the military operations against pro-Taleban militants in Pakistan's tribal areas. A fatwa issued by the mosque describing militants killed during the campaign as 'martyrs' led to a rapid deterioration in relations between Pervez Musharraf
Pervez Musharraf
Pervez Musharraf , is a retired four-star general who served as the 13th Chief of Army Staff and tenth President of Pakistan as well as tenth Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee. Musharraf headed and led an administrative military government from October 1999 till August 2007. He ruled...
and Ghazi. The Pakistan government claimed Ghazi was involved in a plot against the president, the army and parliament; however this was later refuted by the government minister for religious affairs.
Death
Students from the mosque started kidnapping people they considered to be 'un-Islamic'. This led to an escalating confrontation with security forces and eventually an armed stand-off. The Pakistan Army decided to take an action against Ghazi, and it was began as Pakistan Army Special Forces (SF), Pakistan Army Rangers, and Special Service Group (SSG) stormed the mosque. The Pakistan Ministry of Interior reported that Ghazi was killed on 10 July 2007 during Operation SilenceSiege of Lal Masjid
The siege of Lal Masjid was a confrontation in July 2007 between Islamic fundamentalist militants and the Government of Pakistan led by General Pervez Musharraf and Shaukat Aziz Administration, then Prime minister of Pakistan...
. According to the ISPR the body of Ghazi was found in the basement of the Lal Masjid.