ISLAMABAD: Despite orders from the Islamabad High Court (IHC), the capital city`s administration seems reluctant to proceed against a seminary that was illegally constructed on private property in Sector G-11/3, for fear of a Lal Masjid-like backlash.

Hearing a petition filed by Amjad Ayub, the owner of the property, on June 1, 2015, IHC Justice Shaukat Aziz Siddiqui had ordered that, `CDA ... shall proceed in the matter strictly in accordance with law and a compliance report will be submitted within one week.

During the course of that hearing, the judge had observed that `no religious seminary can be constructed in an illegal manner and without adopting due procedure.

CDA counsel Nazir Jawad maintained in court that the authoritywould remove the illegal structure within a week and also informed the court that in 2003 and 2006, CDA had launched operations against the illegal construction, but the seminary head Habibullah had not only managed to keep the structure from demolition, but continued expanding it.

Soon after the order was announced, the CDA director enforcement sought approval to demolish the structure, but the authority`s legal directorate asked him to wait for a written order, sources in the civic agency told Dawn.

After a copy of the order was received, the legal directorate forwarded it to the director. However, sources said that the enforcement directorate was confused because the order did not contain clear-cut directions to demolish the illegally constructed madressah.

An of ficial from the enforcementdirectorate told Dawn the matter has been forwarded to the CDA chairman for a final decision.

However, he said, the legal directorate would be asked to interpret the order.

A senior of ficial from CDA`s legal directorate, on the other hand, claimed that there was no ambiguity in the text of the IHC order.

`Our legal counsel has given an undertaking before the court and the authority has to fulfill its commitment,` the of ficial said.

Sources said that it was not legal complications, but the authority`s own reluctance that was keeping them from demolishing the seminary.

Sources within the authority confided that the authority feared the cleric would use the 200-odd seminary students as human shields in case they launched an operation to demolish the madressah.

Sources claimed that the opera-tion against the illegal madressah had been planned for the first of Ramazan as seminary students have a one-month leave. But this year, it appeared the cleric had cancelled their annual vacations.

The authority is probably still reeling from the outcome of its last major operation against illegally constructed seminaries. In 2007, under Gen Pervez Musharraf, a campaign was launched against such structures. But when the CDA began an operation against the illegal madressahs, clerics and seminary students reacted aggressively.

In response to the demolition of a mosque, armed students from Jamia Hafsa occupied the Children`s Library in Sector G-6, which then escalated into an armed clash between students of the Lal Masjid and the military. Gen Musharraf is currently on trial for `launching` the Lal Majid operationin July 2007.

Sources close to the seminary cleric said that after the court order, Lal Masjid cleric Abdul Aziz at Habibullah`s request convened a meeting of lawyers to discuss ways to prevent the demolition of the madressah.

The meeting was attended by advocate Maulana Wajihullah, advocate Qari Abdul Rashid and senior Supreme Court advocate Tariq Asad.

Advocate Tariq Asad confirmed to Dawn that he was instructed to file an intra-court appeal before the IHC, but had not been able to do so thus far. Under the law, an appeal against such an order can be filed within 30 days of its announcement.

CDA spokesman Ramzan Sajid told Dawn that the matter was sub judice and said that the court`s order would be implemented in letter and spirit.