Pakistan Moves to End Standoff in Islamabad

By Griff Witte
Washington Post Foreign Service
Thursday, July 5, 2007; 11:46 AM

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan, July 5 -- Pakistani security forces on Thursday launched an intense operation against militants holed up in an Islamabad mosque, seeking to end a months-long standoff that has turned deadly in recent days.

As the sun set Thursday, 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 commandos seemed to be moving into position for a possible raid.

Throughout the day, the two sides engaged in periodic gun battles, with rifle shots crackling through a part of the city that has been turned into a virtual war zone. Stone-faced soldiers manning sandbagged guard posts stood watch at virtually every intersection within half a mile of the mosque. Helicopter gunships circled overhead, and armored personnel carriers with machine guns mounted on the backs rumbled through the deserted streets.

Pakistani officials have repeatedly said they wanted to give students from an affiliated religious school, or madrassa, located in the mosque compound enough time to leave. But it appeared Thursday that time was fast running out.

The mosque's leader, Maulana Abdul Aziz, was arrested on 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, especially after Aziz called in an interview with Pakistani state television for the 600 girls and 250 boys who he said remained in the mosque to either escape or surrender.

But Aziz's younger brother, Abdul Rashid Ghazi, is in charge at the mosque now, and he has consistently refused to give up, saying he and his followers will fight to the death.

Some of the students who did surrender Thursday reported that others were being held in the mosque against their will, raising the specter of a hostage situation.

"There are a lot of students still inside. They want to come out, but they are not allowed to do so," said a young student who had surrendered in an interview with the private station GEO News. "I think it's just to keep the pressure on the government."

Aziz's arrest and the defection of about 1,000 supporters from the mosque on Wednesday represented a rare victory for the government of President Pervez Musharraf, which has been under pressure as it stumbles through a series of crises. Musharraf, a general who also leads the army, has struggled with how to deal with the mosque, knowing that a raid could lead to mass casualties but that inaction could embolden religious extremists.

Aziz has been charged with murder for his role in the Tuesday clash, a day-long shootout between army rangers and Red Mosque militants that claimed at least 12 lives.

Leaders of the pro-Taliban Red Mosque had turned themselves into a self-appointed anti-vice squad in recent months. Students from the madrassa kidnapped alleged prostitutes and forced them to confess. They also threatened violence against music store owners in this relatively moderate city if they did not close their shops.

In fiery speeches to his followers, Aziz had preached a strict separation of men and women with rigid adherence to gender rules that he said are set forth in Islamic law. He once issued a fatwa, or religious edict, against a female government official for publicly hugging a man who was not her husband.

The madrassa was popular among poor families from the conservative North-West Frontier Province because it offered a free, religious-based education for students growing up in an area where the government has few quality schools.