A defiant call as mosque reopens
The Red Mosque reopened in Islamabad, Pakistan, with a defiant call for Islamic law from its incarcerated prayer leader, nearly three months after an army raid there left more than 100 people dead.
Commandos attacked in July after an anti-vice campaign led from the mosque boiled over into gun battles with police.
A first attempt to reopen the mosque in July ended when students seized the building and a suicide bomber killed 13 people nearby.
About 3,000 people responded to Wednesday’s noon call for prayer.
In his message, prayer leader Maulana Abdul Aziz urged his followers to continue campaigning for the imposition of Sharia, or Islamic law.
President Pervez Musharraf said authorities would clamp down if militants tried to retake control.
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