US media reacts on Lal Masjid stand-off

The Christian Science Monitor, a leading US paper, has supported the military action against the Lal Masjid militants, arguing that it may bring the final collapse of religious militancy in Pakistan.

Washington, July 10 : The Christian Science Monitor, a leading US paper, has supported the military action against the Lal Masjid militants, arguing that it may bring the final collapse of religious militancy in Pakistan.

"If the military uses wise tactics to end the siege well, civilisation will be the victor," the paper said.

The New York Post blamed CIA-funded jihadi programmes against the Soviets in Afghanistan for the mushroom growth of militant groups in and around Pakistan.

The New York Times asked the United States to "disentangle itself from the sinking fortunes of Pakistan President General Pervez Musharraf."

The Washington Post in its editorial said that the rebellion at the Lal Masjid began in January, but the Musharraf regime failed to take timely action until clashes erupted around the mosque last week.

"The General has had far less patience for the secular political parties and civil society groups that could be his allies in fighting the Talibanisation of Pakistan," the newspaper observed.

The paper said that the fear of instability in a Muslim state with nuclear weapons caused Washington to appease General Musharraf, but argued that this policy was "dangerously short-sighted."

The Post claimed that the Musharraf government was unlikely to survive for long and urged Washington to reconsider its policies.

The New York Times urged the US to "disentangle itself from the sinking fortunes" of General Musharraf.

The editors wrote, "Washington needs to make clear to the Pakistani people that America is the ally of their country, not their dictator, and that the United States favours the earliest possible return to free elections and civilian rule," the Dawn reported.

Commenting on the Lal Masjid siege, the Monitor wrote: "The militants showed what they were really made of They are using women as hostages."

"And one of their leaders, senior cleric Maulana Abdul Aziz, tried to sneak out of the compound, covered in a burqa. For all of his past sermonising on keeping the sexes separate, his attempted escape in drag revealed the underlying farce of these militants," the paper said.

The New York Post noted that the CIA-funded programmes played a key role in training and arming the militants who now are hiding in places like the Lal Masjid.

The Lal Masjid, was founded Maulana Muhammad Abdullah, a strong supporter of those government-favoured "jihads," against the Soviets in Afghanistan, preaching on behalf of the Pakistani and US governments and helping them recruit fighters for Afghanistan, the paper wrote.

"He was amply rewarded" by authorities who, for example, let him expand his mosque by encroaching on state lands, the paper noted.

ANI