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Cleric sees standoff as a trigger in Pakistan
Submitted by Newsbyte on Mon, 07/09/2007 - 08:47.
ISLAMABAD, Pakistan -- Fears deepened Sunday about the fate of hostages reportedly being held by Islamic militants in a mosque in the heart of the capital. As Pakistani troops continued their siege of the Red Mosque, the cleric in charge declared that he hoped the standoff, which has left at least two dozen people dead, would help trigger an Islamic revolution in Pakistan. A lieutenant colonel who was leading an operation to blast holes in the perimeter wall of the mosque so that women and children could escape was killed Saturday night. It was unclear how many people were inside the mosque complex, which contains two madrassas, or seminaries, with an enrollment of about 5,000 students. About 1,200 people have surrendered to authorities, but the number of those leaving the mosque has slowed to a trickle. Some emerging students have said a hard-core group of about 50 militants is preventing hundreds of people, including women and children, from leaving. The sound of explosions by the army echoed again Sunday through the residential neighborhood where the mosque sits. The government says it has held back a full-scale assault out of concern for those held against their will, but it described the ringleaders as "terrorists" affiliated with radical Pakistani groups. President Pervez Musharraf issued an ultimatum Saturday in calling for a surrender. The mosque's head cleric, who took over as leader after his brother, Maulana Abdul Aziz, was caught last week trying to slip out of the compound in women's clothing, said security forces had killed 300 of his followers. Authorities dismissed that claim. Abdul Rashid Ghazi was quoted in Pakistani newspapers Sunday as saying that he and his followers hoped their "martyrdom" would inspire a wider fight against the government. However, the standoff has not generated significant support even from hard-line religious parties, and the public seems to approve of the government's decision to move against the mosque. Although the standoff burst into violence last Tuesday, the mosque confrontation has been brewing for months. In February, female students took over a nearby public library, and students embarked on a Taliban-style anti-vice campaign in the capital, raiding video stores and abducting alleged prostitutes. By Mubashir Zaidi and Laura King, Tribune Newspapers: Los Angeles Times Some Background on the conflict's roots: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/3724082.stm The President is also the Army Chief. Why do you think he waited as long as he has to use force in dealing with the mosque situation? **REMEMBER TO BE RESPECTFUL** Source: |
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