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Lal Masjid deputy chief agrees to hold talks with religious scholars: Pakistani TV |
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19:49, July 09, 2007 |
Deputy chief of hard-line Lal Masjid, or Red Mosque, Abdur Rashid Ghazi has expressed his agreement on holding talks with a panel of ulema, or religious scholars, private Geo TV reported Monday.
Abdur Rashid Ghazi in the besieged Lal Masjid compound contacted some religious scholars Monday and proposed names of seven people on whom he has trust on, Geo said.
The ulema could carry forward the process of negotiations with the government and the Lal Masjid management and they would try to go inside the Lal Masjid after finalizing the procedure of talks, said the report.
Officials said that the government's top priority was to save the lives of the innocent children and women in the mosque and seminary compound, who were believed to be held hostage by hard- liners.
To save innocent lives as many as possible, the Pakistani government is avoiding full-fledged military operation against Lal Masjid, which has been encircled by troops since July 4, according to official sources.
Chairing a high-level meeting in Islamabad, Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf Monday directed the officials to be careful about the sanctity of the mosque during the Lal Masjid operation.
The president said a delegation of religious should hold talks to settle the issue and the people entrenched in the mosque should be convinced to lay down the arms, according to Geo reports.
Lal Masjid followers and security personnel deployed outside erupted into deadly street clashes on July 3, which so far have left at least 22 people killed and over 100 injured.
So far around 1,300 religious students have come out of the mosque and seminary complex to surrender to law enforcers since six days ago, according to officials.
Source: Xinhua
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