Islamists retake Pakistan mosque, paint walls red
The students demanded the return of the mosque's chief cleric, Abdul Aziz, who was caught trying to flee the compound in a woman's burqa during the siege and is now in jail awaiting trial on terror charges.
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Related: Blast Near Islamabad's Red Mosque Kills 13
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by Nasir Jaffry Fri Jul 27, 7:39 AM ET
ISLAMABAD (AFP) - Hundreds of Islamists occupied Pakistan's Red Mosque on Friday, painting the walls in their original colour and wrecking the official reopening of the complex after a bloody army assault on militants.
Protesters chased out a government-appointed religious elder who was meant to lead the first Friday prayers at the Islamabad mosque since the military operation there earlier this month that left more than 100 people dead.
The unarmed demonstrators, most of them former students of the pro-Taliban mosque in the heart of the leafy capital, flew jihadi flags from the minarets and pelted police vehicles with stones, an AFP reporter witnessed.
Five or six people carrying buckets daubed red paint over the outer walls, which had been changed to a peach colour during government renovations, while dozens more unfurled Islamist flags and banners on the roof.
"It is true that rowdy students have overtaken the mosque, they are not letting the prayers be held," a senior security official told AFP on condition of anonymity.
Despite tight security, the students stopped prayer leader Imam Mohammad Ashfaq taking up his position at the mosque's pulpit and used the microphone to deliver their own furious speeches against the government raid.
"I was told everything would be peaceful. I was never interested in taking up this job and after today I will never do it," Ashfaq told AFP as he left with a police escort.
ISLAMABAD (AFP) - Hundreds of Islamists occupied Pakistan's Red Mosque on Friday, painting the walls in their original colour and wrecking the official reopening of the complex after a bloody army assault on militants.
Protesters chased out a government-appointed religious elder who was meant to lead the first Friday prayers at the Islamabad mosque since the military operation there earlier this month that left more than 100 people dead.
The unarmed demonstrators, most of them former students of the pro-Taliban mosque in the heart of the leafy capital, flew jihadi flags from the minarets and pelted police vehicles with stones, an AFP reporter witnessed.
Five or six people carrying buckets daubed red paint over the outer walls, which had been changed to a peach colour during government renovations, while dozens more unfurled Islamist flags and banners on the roof.
"It is true that rowdy students have overtaken the mosque, they are not letting the prayers be held," a senior security official told AFP on condition of anonymity.
Despite tight security, the students stopped prayer leader Imam Mohammad Ashfaq taking up his position at the mosque's pulpit and used the microphone to deliver their own furious speeches against the government raid.
"I was told everything would be peaceful. I was never interested in taking up this job and after today I will never do it," Ashfaq told AFP as he left with a police escort.
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posted by jillosophy at 7/27/2007 11:18:00 AM
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