PAKISTAN: Shooting at Islamabad mosque foils Islamist mediators attempting to obtain the release of child hostages

Explosions and gunfire stopped Islamist politicians from entering an Islamabad mosque besieged by a radical cleric and his followers in an attempt to obtain the release of children among his hostages. Explosions and heavy gunfire stopped Islamist politicians from entering a besieged Islamabad mosque on Saturday (July 6) on a mission to persuade a radical cleric to release child hostages. The five-member delegation of religious conservatives blamed security forces for opening fire after the cleric had already given them an all clear to enter Red Mosque, or Lal Masjid. "I have to say with great regret that we were stopped by the Rangers (Paramilitary) officials. They started heavy firing on the Jamia Hafsa (madrasa) and Red Mosque before we arrived there, just to frighten us so that we would go away," parliamentarian Maulana Shah Abdul Aziz told reporters. Hundreds of troops have besieged the fortified compound housing the mosque and a girls' madrasa since Tuesday. There were unconfirmed accounts of the mosque's defenders burying more bodies on Saturday, but so far the death toll is 20. "Security is no excuse. Without any rhyme or reason, they (the government) are creating a drama and infuriating people," said member of parliament Samia Raheel Qazi. She added that whatever happened now, the government would be responsible for it. Abdul Rashid Ghazi, the leader of a Taliban-style movement, has declared he would choose "martyrdom" rather than agree to unconditional surrender, and has rejected government accusations that he is holding women and children as human shields. About 1,200 students left the mosque after the clashes began but only a trickle of about 20 came out on Friday, among them a boy who said older students were forcing young ones to stay. Officials say they don't know how many are left in there, though they put the number of hard-core militants at 50 to 60, while Ghazi has said there are 1,900 students in the compound, and his elder brother, who was captured trying to escape in a burqa in Wednesday, put the number at 850, including 600 females. Tensions began rising in January when students launched an anti-vice campaign to impose strict Islamic law. They kidnapped people they accused of prostitution, intimidated shopkeepers selling Western videos, abducted police and threatened suicide attacks if they were suppressed.

ITN Source | July 7, 2007

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