Pakistan's Red Mosque open again

The mosque was briefly re-occupied in July

The controversial Red Mosque in Pakistan's capital, Islamabad, has re-opened following a Supreme Court ruling issued on Tuesday.

The order came three months after the mosque was stormed by Pakistani troops to evict militants who had taken sanctuary within its complex.

More than 100 people were killed in the fighting in July.

The mosque's chief cleric was arrested. His wife has pledged that it will not be used for political activity.

The Supreme Court issued its order after Umme Hassan made her promise.

It also ordered the government to pay relatives compensation for all those killed in the military operation.

Among those who died was deputy mosque head Abdul Rashid Ghazi, brother of chief cleric Maulana Abdul Aziz.

Osama Bin Laden has strongly criticised the July storming

The mosque temporarily reopened on 27 July but closed within hours after protesters reoccupied it at the same time as a suicide blast near the complex killed 14 people.

The raid on the mosque triggered a series of revenge suicide bombings and other attacks by militants across Pakistan, killing hundreds of people.

The leader of a hard-line Islamic student movement which campaigned for the mosque to reopen said worshippers would attend in large numbers on Wednesday to offer prayers.

"We hope that police do not interfere and try to bully us, we will remain peaceful," Asif Dilawar Mahmood, the chief of Tehreek Tuleba-o-Talibat (Movement of Male and Female Students) told the AFP news agency.

"We are thankful to the Supreme Court for ordering the reopening."

Fresh violence

In an audio tape released at the end of September, al-Qaeda leader Osama Bin Laden promised "retaliation" for the storming of the mosque.

He said the army operation, in which made Gen Musharraf an infidel.

The incident "demonstrated Musharraf's insistence on continuing his loyalty, submissiveness and aid to America against the Muslims... and makes armed rebellion against him and removing him obligatory", Bin Laden said.

The re-opening of the mosque has coincided with fresh violence near the Pakistani border with Afghanistan.

Pakistani security forces say they killed 10 pro-Taleban militants near the town of Miranshah after an early morning attack on a check post killed two soldiers and wounded another four.