Troops of burqa-clad women launch 'morality' crackdown from Red Mosque

Amid great embarrassment for President Pervez Musharraf and complaints from the Chinese government, the women were later released - albeit wearing burqas and having been told in no uncertain terms that the mosque did not approve of them handling male flesh, whether in the course of a massage or otherwise.

"The thing is that we are convinced the system in Pakistan is a total failure," said Abdul Rashid Ghazi, from the Red Mosque. "It's not giving justice, it's not giving the basic necessities. It's not giving the basic education for the people of Pakistan."

Mr Ghazi and his elder brother, Maulana Abdul Aziz, have run Red Mosque, or Lal Masjid, since their father, Maulana Abdullah, an outspoken imam who often delivered fiery sermons on jihad, was assassinated within the compound's walls in the 1990s. The ultimate ambition of the mosque - which has long admitted supporting the Taliban and al-Qa'ida - is Sharia law for Pakistan.

In recent weeks, students from the mosque's two seminaries or madrassas - one for young women and one for young men - have been threatening shopkeepers and stores selling DVDs and videos. Previously, a group of covered female students, many armed with Kalashnikov rifles, took over a public library in protest against the government of General Musharraf.