Red Mosque Holdouts Vow to Die

Pakistani government halts assault to allow women to escape, but rejects anything but unconditional surrender

By Ben Worthen, Newser User

Posted Jul 6, 2007 7:41 AM CDT

(Newser) – The militant cleric in Islamabad's besieged Red Mosque who yesterday suggested a negotiated surrender today said he and his followers would martyr themselves, after the government refused to negotiate. Nineteen people have been killed since the stand-off began four days ago; several hundred students are estimated to remain inside the mosque.

President Musharraf ordered security forces to hold back in its assault on the mosque in order to allow women and girls to exit safely. But the government dismissed anything but unconditional surrender. "We are ready for our heads to be cut off but we will not bow to them," declared Abdul Rashid Ghazi, the brother of the radical mosque leader who was captured trying to escape wearing a burqa.

[Images (8)]

[Videos (2)]

Pakistani paramilitary force officers arrest militants outside the Lal masjid or Red mosque in Islamabad, Pakistan, Thursday, July 5, 2007. A radical cleric captured by security forces while fleeing in... (Associated Press)

Resident of Islamabad looks through a gate as Pakistan army imposed curfew near the Lal Masjid, or Red mosque in Islamabad, Pakistan, Friday, July 6, 2007. The siege of the radical mosque in Pakistan's... (Associated Press)

A Pakistan paramilitary soldier with machine gun patrols on the vicinity of Lal or Red Mosque in Islamabad, Pakistan on Friday, July 06, 2007. The siege of a radical mosque in Pakistan's capital entered... (Associated Press)

Chief cleric of the Lal Masjid, or Red Mosque Maulana Abdul Aziz is seen in Islamabad Thursday, July 5, 2007 in this image made from TV. The captured leader of the radical mosque conceded Thursday that... (Associated Press)

Abdul Rashid Ghazi, a Pakistani Islamic cleric and vice principal of an Islamic school "Jamia Hasfa", speaks on his cellular phone in this file photo in Islamabad, Pakistan March 29, 2007. Ghazi refused... (Associated Press)

A Pakistani religious student guards the Red mosque and seminary fearing an operation from authorities in Islamabad, Pakistan, Monday, July 2, 2007. Pakistan's President Gen. Pervez Musharraf said that... (Associated Press)

Pakistan paramilitary soldiers patrol on the vicinity of Lal or Red Mosque in Islamabad, Pakistan on Friday, July 06, 2007. The siege of a radical mosque in Pakistan's capital entered its third day Friday... (Associated Press)

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Inside story- Pakistan's Red Mosque- 04Jul07- Part 1 (AlJazeeraEnglish (YouTube))

Red Mosque Imam in Pakistan Threatens Suicide Operations (lookhearsee (YouTube))

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Red Mosque Holdouts Vow to Die