Islamabad: The Pakistani government has announced the dramatic capture of the Red Mosque head and surrender by hundreds of students amid hopes that the crisis was close to an end.
More than 1,200 students who were holed up inside the mosque have also now surrendered, according to the government.
Deputy interior minister Zafar Iqbal Warraich, appearing on state television, said Maulana Abdul Aziz was caught as he tried to escape in the disguise of a female student. He was among a group of female students about to surrender and was wearing a veil.
Police also set off a series of explosions on Wednesday night, although it was believed these were just warnings and that no-one was injured.
Helicopter gunships circled overhead and troops in armoured personnel carriers surrounded the Red Mosque amid a shoot-on-sight curfew imposed after clashes left 16 people dead on Tuesday.
Test for Musharraf
Students exchanged automatic gunfire with security forces as night fell, after police fired tear gas shells at the compound to drive out more radicals holed up inside, officials said.
The situation poses a major new test for President Pervez Musharraf as he seeks to shore up his eight-year military rule.
Analysts say Musharraf has faced a dilemma in dealing with the activities of the mosque, which effectively tried to set up a Taliban mini-state in the heart of Islamabad. About 700 radical students surrendered yesterday.
Each student who surrendered was paid Rs5,000 and provided transport to go back home, Islamabad's chief commissioner Khalid Parvez said. Some clerics tried mediating to end the standoff but the government said it would not negotiate with the mosque's clerics.
"The prime minister made it clear that negotiations had lapsed due to the obstinate attitude of the Gazi brothers," a statement said, referring to the mosque's two main clerics.
- With inputs from AFP and Reuters
