Released Pakistan 'madrassa' hostages fear for safety
Mar 30, 2007 - 6:22:40 PM
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Meanwhile, authorities have come under mounting criticism for allowing Islamic militancy to go unchecked in the capital and in other parts of Pakistan.
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By DPA,
[RxPG] Islamabad, March 30 - An alleged brothel manager who was held hostage and beaten up at a radical 'madrassa' - in the Pakistani capital is seeking foreign protection from vengeful students, news reports said Friday.
'I will approach foreign missions in Islamabad to ask for protection because they - have warned us of severe consequences,' the woman identified as Shamim told the media after she and three others were released Thursday after two days of captivity.
The woman was picked up by madrassa students together with her daughter, daughter-in-law and a six-month-old baby on Tuesday as part of a campaign against prostitution, gambling dens and underground suppliers of alcohol.
Ensuing detentions by police of Islamic teachers and students sparked a mass protest by thousands of stick-wielding girls from the school, while riot units sealed off the notorious madrassa and mosque complex in the city centre.
Students over the last two weeks have forced the closure of at least three illegal gaming houses and warned owners of video shops and Internet cafes to stop peddling obscene material.
The kidnapping led to a stand-off Wednesday between police and Islamic students at the madrassa, which is known for its active support for Taliban insurgents fighting foreign forces in Afghanistan.
Authorities released some detainees and the students set free other hostages including three police officers before the women were finally released.
Shamim issued what she later said was a forced confession of her involvement in prostitution and pledged to reform her ways.
Once safely home she said she had been tied up, beaten and made to publicly repent.
'I was able to leave after I agreed to confess before reporters,' she said. 'Otherwise no authority in the world, not even President Musharraf, would have been able to free us from detention.'
As well as being subjected to physical violence, she said the three women were paraded in front of students as 'infidels'.
'We would prefer to turn to Christianity. At least Christians would provide us with protection,' she added.
Fearing reprisals, police moved Shamim and her family to guarded accommodation Thursday night.
The 11,000 students of the madrassa and mosque have adopted an increasingly defiant stance towards the government in recent weeks, while being encouraged by teachers to join the jihad, or holy war, in Afghanistan.
Hundreds of girls have occupied a nearby public library for two months in protest against plans to demolish a number of illegally constructed city mosques.
Students also set up an unlicenced FM radio station that officials say disseminates anti-government propaganda.
Meanwhile, authorities have come under mounting criticism for allowing Islamic militancy to go unchecked in the capital and in other parts of Pakistan.
'The scary thing is that the state seems to have absolved itself of all responsibility in such matters, which are erupting with fearful regularity all over the country,' Pakistan's Daily Times said Friday.
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