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Pakistan policemen released

Nirupama Subramanian

ISLAMABAD: Two policemen who were being held hostage at a hardline Islamist mosque in the capital were released on "humanitarian" grounds by the mosque administrators on Thursday, nearly a week after their capture.

The controversial mosque, Lal Masjid, captured four policemen last Friday, demanding the release of students from Jamia Fareedia, an associated madrasa for men, arrested over the last few weeks.

The mosque administrators let off two policemen last Saturday after negotiations with the Government. The Government released five persons on bail.

The last few days have seen a tense stand-off between the mosque and law enforcers as the Government threatened an operation to free the remaining two policemen and then seemed to change its mind.

In the process, there was a near-clash when students of the Jamia Fareedia madrasa affiliated to Lal Masjid, which is located in a posh residential sector, took three other policemen hostage in retaliation for the arrest of 15 or so students from the madrasa.

The three policemen were freed after a few hours of negotiations between senior officers and Lal Masjid administrators.

The administrators expressed the hope that the Government would soon free the others affiliated to the mosque.

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