ISLAMABAD: Pakistan's Supreme Court ordered the release on bail of a hard-line cleric who had been detained since shortly before soldiers stormed his mosque in 2007, killing scores of people and energizing the country's Islamist insurgency.

Maulana Abdul Aziz was granted bail while the court considers the charges against him in relation to the siege of the Red Mosque in the capital, Islamabad, his lawyer Shaukat Siddiqui told reporters outside the court. Prosecutors were not available for comment.

Aziz was arrested as he tried to sneak out of the mosque dressed in an all-covering burqa worn by some Muslim women.

Several days later, security forces stormed the mosque and adjoining buildings after scores of heavily armed militants inside refused to surrender. The government says 102 people, including 11 security personnel, were killed in the standoff.

Aziz is facing a raft of charges ranging from abetting terrorists to illegally occupying a building.

The siege triggered anger among Pakistani Islamists, and suicide bombings and other attacks on the government and security forces picked up pace in the months afterward. They have continued since then, alarming Pakistan's Western allies who are concerned about the stability of the nuclear-armed state.