Police tighten mosque siege in Pakistan

In a tense standoff punctuated by the sound of explosions, gunfire and thudding rotors of circling helicopters, Pakistani authorities Thursday demanded the unconditional surrender of Islamic militants holed up inside a radical mosque.

Police and paramilitary troops tightened their siege of the Lal Masjid, or Red Mosque, on the third day of a confrontation that has killed at least 19 people and caused chaos in Pakistan’s normally placid capital.

The cleric who took charge after his brother tried to slip out of the compound in women’s clothing said he and his followers were willing to surrender, but attached conditions that government officials said were unacceptable.

Still, it appeared that authorities were seeking to avoid a full-on assault on the mosque compound. Interior Minister Aftab Khan Sherpao told journalists that troops used explosive charges to damage the walls of the complex and demoralize those inside, but did not attempt to enter.

It was not known how many people were inside the compound. The two Islamic seminaries, or madrasas, at one point had a total enrollment of about 5,000 students, both male and female. Many of them are in their teens.

But some students are thought to have left in recent weeks. In addition, more than 1,100 of them surrendered to authorities Wednesday, taking advantage of an amnesty offered to women, those younger than 16 and men who had not taken part in any violence.

The mosque’s chief cleric, Maulana Abdul Aziz, was arrested Wednesday as he attempted to flee while disguised in a woman’s head-to-toe veil, or burka, and high-heeled sandals. In an interview broadcast on state-run television, he urged followers to give themselves up.

“If they can leave without incident, they should, or surrender if they so desire,” he said.

The rattle of gunfire could be heard from the direction of the compound Thursday and black smoke rose into the air, but police and troops in armored vehicles sealed off the area and kept journalists at a distance. They also cut off electricity and water to the mosque compound.

The confrontation had been brewing for months, as Aziz and his young followers struck an increasingly aggressive stance. Self-appointed vice squads from the mosque began roaming the capital, harassing the operators of video stores and massage parlors and demanding the imposition of Sharia, or Islamic law.

Aziz’s brother, Abdul Rashid Ghazi, suggested in an interview on private GEO television that the holdouts would be willing to give up if they were not arrested, but the deputy information minister, Tariq Azim Khan, said the militants could not set conditions.

“It has to be total, unconditional surrender,” he said.

Sherpao said that on the orders of President Pervez Musharraf, authorities were “using restraint so that people surrender voluntarily.” Musharraf has said previously that he wanted to avoid bloodshed, and expressed particular concern for women and youngsters inside.

Some Pakistani officials alleged that students were being held inside the compound against their will, but Ghazi denied that. Students who had left a day earlier said they were allowed to depart freely, and some said they left because their parents begged them via cellphone to come out.

No further surrenders were reported Thursday, although seven men were captured when they tried to flee through a storm drain.

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laura.king@latimes.com

Special correspondent Zaidi reported from Islamabad and Times staff writer King from Istanbul, Turkey.