Pakistani mosque deadline expires

The mosque's male and female students took part in the stand-off

A deadline set by Pakistan's government for Islamist students at a mosque in Islamabad to surrender has passed.

Troops have sealed off the area around the mosque, a day after 10 people were killed in clashes at the site.

At daybreak, soldiers strung barbed wire across streets near the mosque, where armed students are barricaded.

A indefinite curfew is in place. Those inside the Lal Masjid (Red Mosque) have been ordered to give up their weapons.

Clerics, acting as intermediaries, have held overnight talks with both sides, but there has been no sign of a breakthrough.

The government set a deadline of 1100 local time (0600 GMT) for students to surrender on Wednesday.

Pakistan's interior ministry has accused mosque leaders of treachery and of "tarnishing the image of Islam".

The mosque and two religious schools attached to it - one for men, the other for women - have recently been the focus of several confrontations with the Pakistani authorities.

These have been provoked by the kidnapping of police officers and of people accused by religious leaders of involvement in prostitution by members of the mosque.

Deserted roads

At a news conference at 0130 local time on Wednesday morning, Pakistan's Minister of State for the Interior, Zafar Iqbal Warraich, said an indefinite curfew had been imposed around the mosque.

An armoured personnel carrier... was met by a hail of fire Anger boils over at mosque

He said police, army and paramilitary units had taken up positions around the complex, with orders to shoot on sight anyone leaving the mosque carrying a weapon.

Members of the mosque administration and students who surrendered their weapons would be offered an amnesty, Mr Warraich said.

Both Mr Warraich and Information Minister Mohammad Ali Durrani said there were no imminent plans to storm the mosque.

According to the BBC's Syed Shoaib Hasan, who visited the mosque after midnight, the roads around the building were deserted but for paramilitary troops.

Injured

Fighting around the Lal Masjid raged throughout much of Tuesday.

In pictures: Mosque violence Forces behind Red Mosque Profile: Red Mosque

A soldier, two students and a journalist were among the dead. More than 140 people were hurt in the violence, officials said.

A ceasefire was eventually negotiated with the help of a politician from the MMA, a coalition of Islamic parties.

At the height of the violence, regular police and paramilitary units ringing the mosque compound were replaced by what appeared to be special forces, our correspondent says.

Ambulances and journalists were told to move further away from the scene.

People fled from busy shopping areas as masked students traded fire with security forces. Dozens of other students - mostly armed with sticks and petrol bombs - patrolled the area.

'Security links'

Critics have attacked the government for failing to enforce its authority in the capital.

President Pervez Musharraf has previously said security forces cannot raid the mosque for fear of reprisal suicide attacks.

BBC correspondents say it is thought the mosque has powerful friends in the security services, which has prevented the authorities from taking action.

But the fact that people have now been killed in the stand-off suggests the situation may be turning against the mosque leaders, our correspondents say.