ISLAMABAD, April 25: The Supreme Court on Wednesday told the city managers either honour their word on rebuilding the demolished Jamia Hafsa or face contempt charges.

A three-member bench of the court, headed by Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry, issued notices to the Chief Commissioner of Islamabad, Chairman of the Capital development Authority and the federal interior secretary to the effect while hearing a private petition that the officers did not fulfill their commitments to the court.

Counsel of the petitioner Mohammad Hafeez Jalandhari secretary general of Wafaqul Madaris conceded to the bench that land was allotted for building the girls seminary but the documentation process was yet to be completed.

Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry asked Deputy Attorney General Babar Ali representing the government to seek fresh instructions from the government and said it had to comply with the earlier orders.

Islamabad authorities had the option to honour the undertakings they gave to the court or implement the agreement they reached with the Jamia Hafsa party last December about providing a 20-kanal plot in Sector H-11/4 for the construction of a new Jamia Hafsa with ancillary buildings.

The old building of Jamia Hafsa was razed to the ground following the Lal Masjid episode. The conflict started when female students of the Jamia occupied the adjacent children’s library on January 22, 2007 to protest against the razing of seven other mosques in the city. The tension mounted and on July 3, several people were killed in battles between security forces and students at the mosque.

Earlier in October 2, 2007 the Islamabad administration and the CDA had submitted an undertaking in the Supreme Court to arrange for the construction of a new Jamia Hafsa building that should also contain a research centre and a hostel at some alternative place.

Later on December 29, 2011 an agreement was reached in which it was decided that a large chunk of 20 kanals land in Sector H-11/4, earlier reserved for the National Institute of Science and Technology, will be given for the construction of the madressah, research centre and the hostel for students of Jamia Hafsa. The land was to be given in lieu of the comparatively small piece of land where the demolished building of the Jamia stood.

The agreement was signed by Chief Commissioner ICT Tariq Mahmood Pirzada, Principal Jamia Hafsa Majida Younas alias Umm-i-Hissan and Imam Markazi Jamia Masjid (Lal Masjid Islamabad) Maulana Abdul Aziz.

The agreement also required the parties not to utilise in any manner the entire 250.56 square yards land previously used by Jamia Hafsa for any other purpose except a prayer ground of Lal Masjid. It was also agreed that no party would claim any further monetary or land compensation in future.