Worshippers abandon Pul-i-Alam mosque

PUL-I-ALAM (PAN in Pul-i-Alam, the capital of central Logar province, in the aftermath of a bomb blast that killed Governor Arsala Jamal on the first day of Eidul Adha.

Hundreds of people would visit the mosque, the largest in Logar, especially on Fridays, but they have stopped offering prayers there since October 15 when the blast took place, residents and officials say.

Gulab Khan, who runs a shop near the mosque, told Pajhwok Afghan News a large number of people would throng the mosque for afternoon and evening prayers until the bomb attack. “Nowadays no one visits the mosque,” he said.

Another Pul-i-Alam resident, Habibullah, said the imam of the mosque had left and another prayer leader should be hired to let people start going to the main mosque.

An official at the governor’s house, Juma Gul, said all of them would go to the mosque for offering prayers, but they had stopped doing so after the blast.

Residents asked the Haj and Islamic Affairs Department to repair damaged portions of the mosque and renovate it.

Deputy Governor Mohammad Hashim Faizi acknowledged people had abandoned the mosque for fear of more unfortunate incidents.

He said there was no restriction on visiting the mosque from the government side and everyone could offer prayers in the mosque without any fear.

Faizi said the mosque imam, Mualvi Siddiqullah, had fled to an unknown place following the Eidul Adha day explosion.

Siddiqullah also served as public relations officer at the Logar Peace Committee.

After the blast that killed Arsala Jamal and injured 15 people, police detained servants of the mosque, but the imam went into hiding.

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