Another Red Mosque in the Making

Another Lal Masjid surfaces
Daily Times, July 29, 2007

GHALANAI: Masked Taliban gunmen occupied the tomb of freedom fighter Haji Sahib Turangzai and a nearby mosque – and named it Lal Masjid – at Ghazi Abad in Lakrou Tehsil, some 40 kilometres north of Mohmand Agency headquarters Ghalani. Taliban leader Umar Khalid told reporters that they had named the mosque Lal Masjid and that the place was the centre of the jihad launched by Haji Sahib Turangzai against the British rulers. “We want to take forward the missions of Haji Turangzai and Lal Masjid’s slain khateeb Ghazi Abdul Rashid,” he added. Khalid also said they were setting up two madrassas, one each for boys and girls, and added that the boys’ madrasa would be named after Haji Sahib and the girls school would be named Jamia Hafsa Umm-e-Hassan. The Taliban leader said any govt effort against them would be resisted. He claimed around 3,000 men in Mohmand Agency were ready to sacrifice their lives for Shariah. staff report