Pakistani religious students and locals perform ablutions at the reopened Lal Masjid (Red Mosque) in Islamabad on October 3.

The mosque reopened nearly three months after a military raid, with its deposed head urging thousands of supporters to continue his struggle for Islamic sharia law.

Around 5,000 people packed the mosque in central Islamabad to hear a recorded message by radical cleric Abdul Aziz, who was captured in July while trying to flee the building while dressed in a burqa.

Photograph: Aamir Qureshi/AFP/Getty Images

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Images: Pak army smokes out Lal Masjid rebels