Pakistan announces curfew break amid mosque siege
Posted: 05 July 2007 1558 hrs

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ISLAMABAD: Pakistani authorities Thursday announced a two-hour break in the shoot-on-sight curfew imposed in the capital two days ago amid a siege at a radical mosque, state media said.

The government said the curfew would be relaxed from 1:30 to 3:30 pm (0830 to 1030 GMT), it said.

The announcement however made it clear that the restrictions would not be lifted from the area around the Red Mosque.

It is the first break since the government clamped the curfew in the early hours of Wednesday on Islamabad's leafy G-6 sector.

Troops shot dead an apparently mentally ill man who violated the restrictions on the same day.

Troops and police backed by armoured personnel carriers and helicopters have surrounded the mosque since Tuesday, when clashes started between students and security forces, killing at least 16 people. - AFP/yy