Pakistani militant students surrender

ISLAMABAD – Leaders of a besieged radical mosque in the Pakistani capital remained defiant as a deadline calling for their immediate surrender passed yesterday, a day after clashes there killed at least 10 people.

However, more than 500 of their followers surrendered as government troops with armoured personnel carriers tightened their stranglehold on the Lal Masjid, or Red Mosque, in the heart of Islamabad, said the capital’s top security official Khalid Pervez. More of the militants were emerging from the mosque and a women’s seminary, gathering in an open field and then boarding buses provided by authorities.But one of them, 15-year-old Maryam Qayyeum, said many were not leaving the seminary.”They are happy.They only want martyrdom.They don’t want to go home,” she said.The militants were ordered to lay down their arms and surrender by 06h00 GMT.All women and children will be granted amnesty but males involved in killings and other crimes as well as the top mosque leaders would face legal action, said Deputy Information Minister Tariq Azim.”The deadline has expired but we are not going to start any action immediately.We do not want bloodshed.We are reasonably sure that better sense will prevail,” Pervez said.He said the government is giving US$83 to each person who surrenders to help them return home.As the deadline passed, the mosque’s deputy leader Abdul Rashid Ghazi said he was prepared to talk with the government but added, “We will continue to defend ourselves.”Qayyeum said mosque leaders were not trying to stop students from giving up.But her mother, who had come to take her home said, “They are making speeches.They want to incite them.”Johar Ali, 20, who had come to the mosque to support the militants several days ago said there were still hundreds inside, but he did not see any suicide bombers the mosque leaders claim are ready to launch attacks.The events came after a day of bloody clashes in Islamabad at the mosque between security forces and militants living inside the sprawling mosque, which has been at loggerheads with the government.The violence was sparked when male and female student followers of the mosque – some of them armed – rushed toward a police checkpoint.The bloodshed added to a sense of crisis in Pakistan, where President Gen.Pervez Musharraf already faces emboldened militants near the Afghan border and a pro-democracy movement triggered by his botched attempt to fire the country’s chief justice.The mosque siege sparked street protests on Tuesday in the cities of Lahore and Quetta organised by radical religious parties.Nampa-APsMore of the militants were emerging from the mosque and a women’s seminary, gathering in an open field and then boarding buses provided by authorities.But one of them, 15-year-old Maryam Qayyeum, said many were not leaving the seminary.”They are happy.They only want martyrdom.They don’t want to go home,” she said.The militants were ordered to lay down their arms and surrender by 06h00 GMT.All women and children will be granted amnesty but males involved in killings and other crimes as well as the top mosque leaders would face legal action, said Deputy Information Minister Tariq Azim.”The deadline has expired but we are not going to start any action immediately.We do not want bloodshed.We are reasonably sure that better sense will prevail,” Pervez said.He said the government is giving US$83 to each person who surrenders to help them return home.As the deadline passed, the mosque’s deputy leader Abdul Rashid Ghazi said he was prepared to talk with the government but added, “We will continue to defend ourselves.”Qayyeum said mosque leaders were not trying to stop students from giving up.But her mother, who had come to take her home said, “They are making speeches.They want to incite them.”Johar Ali, 20, who had come to the mosque to support the militants several days ago said there were still hundreds inside, but he did not see any suicide bombers the mosque leaders claim are ready to launch attacks.The events came after a day of bloody clashes in Islamabad at the mosque between security forces and militants living inside the sprawling mosque, which has been at loggerheads with the government.The violence was sparked when male and female student followers of the mosque – some of them armed – rushed toward a police checkpoint.The bloodshed added to a sense of crisis in Pakistan, where President Gen.Pervez Musharraf already faces emboldened militants near the Afghan border and a pro-democracy movement triggered by his botched attempt to fire the country’s chief justice.The mosque siege sparked street protests on Tuesday in the cities of Lahore and Quetta organised by radical religious parties.Nampa-APs