Jamia Faridia madarassa, which had over 3,000 students on its rolls, was taken over late last night by the security forces after a series of deafening explosions in areas near the Masjid complex where several hundred militants, led by deputy head of the mosque Abdul Rashid Ghazi, are holed up and engaged in a tense stand-off with security forces, witnesses and media reports said.
The madrassa is located in a posh area in the capital and is about four kms from the mosque. Top diplomats and disgraced scientist A Q Khan also stay in the same area.
A large number of students were also taken into custody. Most of the boys of the madrassa, however, are believed to have been holed up in the Lal Masjid along with Ghazi and other militants.
Jamia Hafsa, the girls' madrassa, is attached to the mosque, which is located in another posh area of the city. Jamia Faridia, the boys' madrassa, was allegedly constructed on illegally acquired land at the foothills of the picturesque Margala Hills.
The Defence Ministry, however, strongly denied reports carried by television channels that the President's plane was attacked.
Unidentified militants fired several rounds from a light machine gun and two anti-aircraft guns fixed on the roof-top of a house located near the Chaklala military airbase in Rawalpindi from where the President's plane took off for Balochistan.
Musharraf reached Turbat town in Balochistan, which was hit by heavy rains and floods this week, to supervise relief operations.
Police took into custody a man named Ghaffar, a property dealer, who had rented the house to some people. One of his associates was also arrested. The house owner, too, was detained for questioning.
Journalists, who visited the house from where the firing was resorted to, found tell-tale evidence that it was used for the attack. (PTI)
