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Students occupy Pakistan mosque Violence breaks out at Red Mosque
(about 1 hour later)
Hundreds of students have occupied Pakistan's Red Mosque as it reopened for prayers, demanding the return of its arrested pro-Taleban cleric. Police at Pakistan's Red Mosque in Islamabad have fired tear gas at stone-throwing students who have occupied the building.
Security forces stood by as protesters raised a black flag, and clambered onto the roof of the Islamabad mosque to daub it with paint. Armoured riot vehicles confronted the protesters as they gathered in and around the mosque in the capital.
They prevented a government-appointed cleric from leading Friday prayers. Correspondents say that demonstrators, some carrying wooden staves, hurled rocks at police.
The mosque has been repainted and repaired following the bloody siege that ended on 11 July. The students were demanding the return of the mosque's pro-Taleban cleric who is currently in detention.
The students chanted slogans against President Pervez Musharraf and pushed journalists out of the building. The mosque has been repainted and repaired following the bloody siege that ended on 11 July with the deaths of more than 100 people.
Correspondents say the protesters defaced efforts by the authorities to repaint the mosque in pale yellow. Security forces initially stood by as the protest began, but later dozens of police officers in full riot gear were deployed.
Instead they wrote "Red Mosque" in large Urdu script on the dome of the building. They also rose a black flag with two crossed swords - meant to symbolize jihad, or holy war. Correspondents say the protesters defaced the mosque, which had been repainted in pale colours by the authorities.
The BBC's Dan Isaacs in Islamabad says it is a tense situation, but so far there has been no major confrontation with security forces. They wrote "Red Mosque" in large Urdu script on the dome of the building. They also raised a black flag with two crossed swords - meant to symbolise jihad, or holy war.
The government-appointed cleric drafted in to say prayers at the refurbished mosque said he was upset by what had happened. Earlier protesters prevented a government-appointed cleric from leading Friday prayers at what was supposed to be the peaceful re-opening of the mosque.
"I was told everything would be peaceful. I was never interested in taking up this job and after today I will never do it," Mohammad Ashfaq told AFP news agency as he left the mosque with a police escort."I was told everything would be peaceful. I was never interested in taking up this job and after today I will never do it," Mohammad Ashfaq told AFP news agency as he left the mosque with a police escort.
The students prevented him from speaking at the mosque's pulpit and used the microphone to condemn the government raid on the mosque.
Renovated buildingRenovated building
Troops stormed the mosque on 10 July after its clerics and students waged an increasingly aggressive campaign to enforce strict Sharia law in Islamabad.Troops stormed the mosque on 10 July after its clerics and students waged an increasingly aggressive campaign to enforce strict Sharia law in Islamabad.
The mosque had become a centre of radical Islamic learning and housed several thousand male and female students in adjacent seminaries.The mosque had become a centre of radical Islamic learning and housed several thousand male and female students in adjacent seminaries.
The reopened mosque has got a new roof, and the bullet-pocked walls have been repaired and painted. The debris of the badly damaged seminary for girls is being removed. The chief of Dyala prison in Rawalpindi told Pakistan's Supreme Court that 567 of the 620 students detained during the siege and 36-hour battle had been freed. Of those still being held, three of them are women.
The chief of Dyala prison in Rawalpindi told Pakistan's Supreme Court that 567 of the 620 students detained during the siege and 36-hour battle have been freed. Of those still being held, three of them are women.
A legal aid committee says it has received 58 complaints from relatives about men who are said to be missing following the siege.A legal aid committee says it has received 58 complaints from relatives about men who are said to be missing following the siege.
The 102 people killed in the siege included 11 soldiers and an as yet unknown number of extremists and their hostages.The 102 people killed in the siege included 11 soldiers and an as yet unknown number of extremists and their hostages.
The attack on the mosque was the fiercest battle fought by security forces in mainland Pakistan since President Musharraf vowed to dismantle the militant jihadi network in the country in the aftermath of the 11 September 2001 attacks on the US.The attack on the mosque was the fiercest battle fought by security forces in mainland Pakistan since President Musharraf vowed to dismantle the militant jihadi network in the country in the aftermath of the 11 September 2001 attacks on the US.