The military attack by Pakistan on its indigenous Lal Masjid has taken a lot of stick from the chauvanic Islamic pundits. But the audacious act by President Musharraf, whether or not goaded from US or China should be commended upon. The president has taken a first ever courageous step to thwart the malign intentions of extremists residing within the country and using creed and religion as a major agenda to fight against humanitarian causes.
But the major setback came when the Al-Qaida protagonist al-Zhawari launched an verbal attack against the president and his forces describing their effort as atrocious and un-Islamic. He openly confessed that this brutal deed can only be repented by Musharraf's blood. Although such vacuous threats would have little or no effect on the President and his forces, but the country can in now way remain ignorant from the valiant efforts and courage displayed by the extremist group.
Moreover, with support from major superpowers like USA and UK it would be very difficult or almost chimeric to assail the military forces in Pakistan. The plot of the event occured at a time when President Musharraf was trying to disabuse his maligned image of an oppressor after dispositioning the Chief Justice of Pakistan, Ifteqaar Chaudhary. With his presidential tenure at the verge of completion it would be difficult to predict whether the president would be able to amass support from political parties to continue another tenure. But one message is certainly put across - whether Musharraf would be looked up as a politic president is still mystified, but Operation Silence would certainly be regarded as vital in curbing extremism and preaching terrorism in the name of Islam.
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