Controversy erupts over proposed demolition of historical Speen Jumaat in Peshawar.

PESHAWAR -- A controversy has cropped up in the provincial capital as authorities have decided to demolish the historical Speen Jumaat (White Mosque) for reconstruction and the residents oppose the decision as they formed a Jirga against the plan. Residents have also formed a 'Committee for the Protection of Speen Jumaat', which held a meeting on Monday and opposed the decision as they said they had donated land for the masjid, reportedly constructed in the 1950s. The meeting, attended by Former Minister Amanullah Haqqani and Kashif Azam, PML-N leader Arbab Khizer Hayat, ex-MPA Atifur Rehman Khalil and other religious scholars and local elders, claimed that a shopping plaza and parking would be constructed in the new design, which they said was unacceptable to them. They also announced staging a rally at Speen Jumaat on Friday in protest against the decision to demolition. Discussing the issue, Deputy Commissioner Shafiullah Khan said that there currently the masjid has almost 5.5 kanals area but with the proposed reconstruction, the area would increase to almost 9 kanals. 'The masjid building has developed cracks and engineers of PDA have pointed out that it is not safe and may collapse in future. This is why the decision on its reconstruction was taken,' he added. The DC further said that as per the new design, there would be two basements, ie one for car parking and another for shops, while the ground floor and the upper first floor would be masjid and madrassa. He said two floods of the mosque would increase its overall area as well. 'We have also arranged a spacious house to shift the Madrassa children there because the Masjid building is risky and any mishap may cause loss of lives,' he added. Meanwhile, a local elder and former minister Maulana...