Pakistan issues mosque ultimatum
President Pervez Musharraf told mosque leaders to free women and children and surrender “or they will be killed”.
The delegates wanted to convince the mosque’s leader, Abdul Rashid Ghazi, to allow women and children to leave.
An increased military presence on the streets, combined with the refusal to let the political delegation through to the mosque, suggests that the government is now closing the door to negotiation.
Police have also seized control of a madrassa, or religious school, several kilometres away, which is also run by clerics from the mosque.
On Friday an attempt by a group of students to break out sparked a co-ordinated assault on three sides by armoured personnel carriers and rangers.
At least 19 people have been killed since the start of the stand-off.
Abdul Rashid Ghazi has said he and his followers are willing to lay down their guns but would rather die than surrender.
He told the BBC on Saturday that as many as 1,800 followers remain in the mosque, and claimed to have buried 30 female students in a mass grave in the compound.
bbc
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