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New Delhi: Pakistan President General Pervez Musharraf has said he is ready to strike against “suicide bombers” hiding in a mosque in Islamabad and warned extremists pose a threat to the country.

''We tried to resolve the Lal Masjid standoff through negotiations to avoid bloodshed. I am not a coward but the issue is tomorrow you will say what have you done. There are women and children inside,'' he said at a media workshop on Friday. ''How can I take action? Action is ready but will be taken at a right time.''

Radical elements of the mosque have repeatedly kidnapped alleged prostitutes and police officers in a drive to impose a harsh version of Islamic law and have challenged authorities in a five-month standoff.

Musharraf claimed supporters of the banned militant group Jaish-e-Mohammad were hiding in the mosque. Female students of a madrasa near the mosque adjoining were “prepared for suicide attacks” and up to 500 children ''were being used as human shields.”

Students of the mosque had kidnapped seven Chinese nationals last Friday and accused of them of running a brothel in the guise of a massage parlour. The hostages were released after the Chinese embassy in Islamabad took up the matter with Pakistani officials.

The mosque’s clerics have often warned they would fight back if the action takes action against them. “If the government carries out an operation then the only option left for us will be to follow the path of jihad (Muslim holy war) and lay down our lives. And by the grace of Allah, our male and female students can carry out suicide attacks as a last option,” Maulana Abdul Aziz, a cleric of the mosque, has said.

More on: Pakistan, Islamabad, Lal Masjid, General Pervez Musharraf, Islam, Suicide Bombers, Jaish-e-Mohammad