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Pakistani PM says negotiation time is over for hard-line clerics |
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08:06, July 05, 2007 |
Pakistani Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz Wednesday said the time for negotiation with management of hard-line Lal Masjid, or Red Mosque, was over, according to local media.
Amnesty would be granted to the women and children who come out voluntarily, said the prime minister while chairing a cabinet meeting, according to Associated Press of Pakistan.
The government had made every possible effort to resolve the Lal Masjid issue through dialogue, Aziz said, adding "but our sincere efforts were misconstrued as our weakness."
Aziz said the government's delay in action was aimed at minimizing collateral loss of life and property and securing safe return of women and children from Lal Masjid and its affiliated Islamic seminary, Jamia Hafsa.
The prime minister reiterated that the writ of state will be maintained at all cost.
Pakistani government has called for surrender of religious personnel in the mosque, and handover of personnel involved in snatching arms from and opening firing on security personnel at noon on July 3.
Nearly 700 religious students so far have surrendered to the authorities since early Wednesday when the government has announced operation against the hard-line personnel in Lal Masjid.
Source: Xinhua
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