Siege continues as militants refuse to surrender

GUNFIRE and explosions rocked a besieged radical mosque in Pakistan’s capital last night, as Islamic militants holed up in the complex ignored a call from their captured leader to surrender.

Captured leader Maulana Abdul Aziz said: “If they can get out quietly they should go, or they can surrender if they want to.”

Mr Aziz’z brother, Abdul Rashid Ghazi, remained inside the mosque and rejected the government’s call for an unconditional surrender.

He said they would consider leaving but only if authorities promised not to arrest anyone and met other demands.

Deputy Information Minister Tariq Azim said there would be no more negotiations.The government said troops would not storm the mosque while women and children were inside.

However, a leader inside the mosque accused troops of firing several mortar rounds, killing 27 female students.

Interior Minister Aftab Khan Sherpao said insisted no mortars were fired and said the alleged casualties were “just their claims”.

Mr Sherpao said soldiers were trying to blast holes in the compound walls to force a bloodless surrender.

It wasn’t clear how many people were holed up in the compound. The Interior Ministry said about 30 extremists were inside, while intelligence officials said there could be as many as 100. The military said several hundred students might also be in the compound.

Soldiers backed by armoured vehicles and helicopters surrounded the Lal Masjid, or Red Mosque, before dawn on Wednesday, a day after the start of clashes between security forces and radical followers of the mosque that have killed at least 19 people.

The violence brought to a head a six-month stand-off between Pakistan’s US- backed government and its top cleric, Mr Aziz, who challenged President Musharraf with a drive to impose Taliban-style Islamic law in Islamabad.

“A large section of the mosque is damaged and fires have broken out in the Jamia Hafsa (seminary),” said Abdul Qayyum by telephone.

“It’s total chaos here. There is smoke everywhere and a fire in the room where we were keeping dead bodies” from earlier skirmishes.