'Soldier dies' at Pakistan mosque

FE Team | Published: July 04, 2007 00:00:00 | Updated: February 01, 2018 00:00:00

A Pakistani soldier has been killed in clashes with radical Islamist students outside a rebellious mosque in the capital, Islamabad, officials say, reports BBC.
Reports say police fired tear gas at a group of students and that students then opened fire with guns.
For several months armed students and clerics at the Lal Masjid (Red Mosque) and its two religious schools have been defying the authorities.
Clerics at the mosque are campaigning for Islamic Sharia law in the capital.
The death of the paramilitary soldier is believed to be the first casualty in the stand-off between the authorities and the students.
"I can confirm that one of our troopers has been killed in the firing from inside the mosque," a senior paramilitary official, Masha Allah, told reporters outside the Lal Masjid.
At least one policeman is also reported to have been wounded.
The students say scores have been affected by the tear gas, with two in a serious condition. One has bullet wounds, the students say.
Students are armed with sticks and petrol bombs and some are wearing masks, the BBC Urdu service's Haroon Rashid who is at the scene says.
Our correspondent says the atmosphere is tense and that he has heard some shots that sounded like they came from within the mosque.
There are two religious schools (madrassas) attached to the mosque, one for men, one for women.
The trouble started when a group of female students came out in large numbers and the paramilitary police used teargas against them.
Extra police had been deployed around the mosque earlier in the day.