It is the first time that Islamabad has ever seen such a battle being fought in the heart of the city. I live less than 500 metres from the Red Mosque, and heard the massive bombing that began soon after dawn and continued for several hours. Heavy smoke blew away from the mosque site. It seemed as if the entire complex was being flattened.

The rebels are well-equipped, fighting with heavy machine guns, rocket launchers and grenades. They have also laid mines and booby traps. They are experienced and well-trained. Many of them are veterans of the fighting in Afghanistan and Kashmir. They belong to outlawed Islamic groups that have been pursued by the Pakistan military.

Some of them have taken up positions on the minarets, and are defiling the sanctity of the mosque by firing from there.

Islamabad is a peaceful place and it is the first time the city has ever experienced such violence in its midst, or a curfew. It is quite shocking. Today the city seems deserted. There is very little traffic on the roads and a huge area of the central part of the city is still under curfew.

The rebels do not have much public sympathy because of the way they occupied the mosque and used it for their own objectives. There is anger at the way they have used women and children.

There is fear, too, because people report having been hit by stray bullets from the fighting even 1km away from the mosque. The area around the mosque is heavily built up, with residences for government officials on several sides. It is the worst possible place for such a battle to be fought.

The Government had been negotiating with the militants for six months before this stand-off started last week, and tried to resolve the situation peacefully. Abdul Rashid Ghazi, the militants' leader, was given many opportunities to agree some kind of compromise. But it seems he and the other militants have refused to make any concessions and have just continued with their activities.

Last night's delegation was a last ditch attempt and the negotiations went on for nearly 11 hours. Ghazi was offered the chance of a fair trial. He wouldn't even have been in prison, just held under house arrest with his mother at an address in the city.

But the rebels completely refused to surrender unconditionally. Ghazi wanted safe passage for himself and everyone in the mosque out of the city. That wasn't acceptable to the Government.

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