Pakistan Army today denied killing of 305 male and female students in its last night operation against Lal Masjid brigade.
Islamabad, July 8 : Pakistan Army today denied killing of 305 male and female students in its last night operation against Lal Masjid brigade.
Pakistan Army spokesman Major General Waheed Arshad said that last night operation was carried out to demolish the boundary wall of the mosque in order to make exits for children held inside the Lal Masjid.
The heavy cache of arms and ammunitions exist in the madrassa and possibly, some deaths might have occurred during the operaion, the Geo News quoted Arshad, as saying.
The Lal Masjid deputy cleric Abdul Rashid Ghazi today accused army of killing 280 female students besides 25 male students while caving into two rooms of the Jamia Hafsa.
Earlier during the wee hours of Sunday, a senior commander of Pakistan's elite Special Service Group (SSG) commando force was killed in heavy firing.
Today, curfew relaxation has been announced for two hours starting 10 am.
Yesterday, the Pakistan Army took over the control of the operation, which till now was been overseen by the Pakistan Rangers since Tuesday.
According to reports, apart from the students, at least 60 "hardcore" militants believed to have links with Al Qaeda and Jaish-e-Mohammad are still inside the Lal Masjid.
So far 1300 people have surrendered and at least 20 people have died in the operations since Tuesday.
ANI