ISLAMABAD, Pakistan, April 17 (UPI) -- Maulana Abdul Aziz, head of an Islamic uprising in Pakistan, greeted throngs of supporters following his early release from prison, sparking security concerns.
Aziz, who led a 2007 insurrection from the venerated Red Mosque, was welcomed by supporters in Islamabad with chants and slogans calling for an Islamic revolution.
Aziz and his supporters in 2007 had attempted to establish a caliphate in the Pakistani capital, creating the Red Mosque brigade to enforce Islamic law in an area within miles of the heart of the government center.
Pakistani forces stormed the Red Mosque in July 2007, killing 100 supporters holed up there, including Aziz's brother, Abdul Rashid Ghazi. Authorities captured Aziz attempting to flee the mosque dressed in a burqa.
Earlier this week, the Supreme Court of Pakistan freed Aziz on $2,500 bail. He returned to the Red Mosque alongside Ahmed Ludhianvi, the leader of the al-Qaida affiliate Sipah-e-Sahaba, sparking fears of increased insurgency in Pakistan, the McClatchy news service reports.
The release comes on the heels of a decision from Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari to establish Islamic law in the Swat Valley and greater North-West Frontier province in a deal with the Taliban regime.
"We will continue our struggle until Islamic law is spread across the country, not just in Swat," Aziz told his supporters.
The McClatchy report suggested Aziz was released early on the stipulation he would not incite violence, but with his supporters heralding the coming revolution, the situation in Pakistan remains tense.
