Pakistani security forces attack besieged mosque
ISLAMABAD, Pakistan – Pakistani security forces launched a massive operation Thursday against radical students holed up in an Islamabad mosque, seeking to end a months-long standoff that has turned bloody in recent days.
Fighting raged in the darkness and continued early today, with the pops and cracks of small-arms fire echoing through the silence of a residential neighborhood. Just after 3 a.m., there was a major explosion, followed by an intense round of shooting that lasted nearly half an hour.
The government had earlier been hoping to pressure the students to leave the mosque peacefully, but those negotiations appeared to have broken down.
It was not immediately clear how many people have been killed in the clash, but leaders of the pro-Taliban Red Mosque have said they are prepared to fight to the death. The government, meanwhile, vowed Thursday to settle for nothing less than surrender.
Pakistani officials have repeatedly said they wanted to give students, especially the many young girls believed to be in the compound, enough time to leave before commencing an all-out assault. But it appeared early today that time was fast running out.
Mosque leaders have tried in recent months to impose a rigid interpretation of Islamic law on this cosmopolitan capital, part of their efforts to turn Pakistan into a theocratic state. From their base in the heart of the city, students with an affiliated madrassa, or religious school, have taken alleged prostitutes hostage and have threatened music store owners with attacks.
The president, Gen. Pervez Musharraf, has struggled with how to combat the challenge. He has been criticized by moderate forces within Pakistan for not cracking down earlier and for allowing extremism to spread within the country generally. But Musharraf has said he was concerned that a raid could lead to civilian casualties and that it could provoke a backlash.
Musharraf’s hand was forced Tuesday, when a firefight broke out between radical students and army rangers that claimed at least 19 lives. More than 1,000 students heeded government calls Wednesday to surrender, and by Thursday night it seemed as though those remaining in the mosque would soon follow.
But as the sun set, a plume of thick black smoke could be seen rising above the mosque following a series of powerful explosions. Witnesses reported that the concrete wall surrounding the mosque had been at least partially destroyed, and heavily armed commandos dressed in black seemed to be moving into position for a possible raid.
A trickle of students continued to emerge from the mosque Thursday, some reporting that others were being held in the mosque against their will.
The mosque’s leader, Maulana Abdul Aziz, was arrested Wednesday night as he attempted to flee disguised in a burqa. His detention briefly sparked hopes that the standoff would be settled without further bloodshed.
Following Aziz’s arrest, his younger brother, Abdul Rashid Ghazi, took over leadership of the mosque.