Musharraf tells mosque militants "surrender or die"
07 Jul 2007 18:21:00 GMT Source: Reuters
(Adds comment from interior minister) By Faisal Aziz ISLAMABAD, July 7 (Reuters) - President Pervez Musharraf told Islamist militants barricaded in a mosque on Saturday to surrender or die, while concern grew for hundreds of women and children inside the besieged compound in the Pakistani capital. Hundreds of troops have surrounded the fortified compound housing the Lal Masjid, or Red Mosque, and a girls' madrasa, where clashes between armed students and security forces began on Tuesday following months of tension. "If they don't surrender, I'm saying it here, they will be killed," Musharraf said in his first public comments on the deadly stand-off in Islamabad. The death toll rose to 20 after a paramilitary soldier was shot dead on Saturday morning, though the cleric leading Lal Masjid's Taliban-style movement said casualties were higher. Officials say security forces have blasted holes in the perimeter wall of the compound. While fierce gunbattles have raged, there has been no assault. Officials estimate 50 to 60 hardcore militants are leading the fighting. "We've shown great patience because we don't want people to be killed," Musharraf told reporters while visiting flood-hit Baluchistan province. "We could have done everything. The government has the power but there are women and children." Mosque cleric Abdul Rashid Ghazi has said he would accept "martyrdom" before surrender, and has rejected government accusations he is holding women and children as human shields. Ghazi said he and his followers would lay down their weapons but would never accept arrest. He said three students were killed on Friday and up to 80 killed in all, but Interior Minister Aftab Ahmed Sherpao dismissed that claim. "Because of the stubbornness of one man, they're being held hostage," Sherpao said, referring to Ghazi and the women and children with him. "If they're harmed it would be a tragedy." MEDIATORS TURNED BACK Water, gas and power to the mosque have been cut and food was said to be getting scarce. On Saturday, army commandos joined paramilitary troops who have led the siege. Security forces also occupied another city madrasa linked to the Lal Masjid. A sustained exchange of fire erupted late on Saturday after intermittent gunfire and explosions through the day. Security forces have stopped reporters getting close. Earlier, heavy firing prevented a five-member delegation of Islamist politicians going to the mosque to press for children to be allowed to leave. They blamed security forces, as Ghazi had said he was prepared to let them in for talks. "Security forces are not allowing us to go in and they have opened fire," said member of parliament Samia Raheel Qazi. About 1,200 students left the mosque after the clashes began but only about 20 came out on Friday. On Saturday, just one boy ducked out and handed himself in. Officials say they don't know how many people remain but there are believed to be hundreds, perhaps up to 2,000. Tension began rising in January when Lal Masjid students launched a campaign to impose strict Islamic law that included an anti-vice drive involving kidnapping and intimidation. On Friday, gunmen fired from a roof-top under the flight path of Islamabad's military airport as Musharraf was flying out. Officials said privately the shooter meant to target Musharraf's aircraft though the attack appeared amateurish. Islamists oppose Musharraf's support for the U.S.-led campaign against terrorism. (Additional reporting by Augustine Anthony, Kamran Haider)
