Female students of the Jamia Hafsa seminary on Monday staged a sit-in in front of the Lal Masjid, demanding the government open the mosque for prayers by Friday and release Maulana Abdul Aziz and his wife Umme Hassan. Security officials stopped the over two-dozen protestors when they tried to enter the mosque. The students called for removal of security forces and their pickets in and around the mosque, warning the government they would come to the mosque on coming Friday and remove all barriers if they were not cleared by then. The students said they were fed up with lame excuses of the district administration concerning reopening of the mosque, adding that the students could not be confined to their homes. The students vowed to carry on the mission of their teachers and fellows, who had sacrificed their lives during the Lal Masjid operation.