Will Pakistan succeed in its war against terrorism, or there is no hope?
http://www.expressindia.com/fullstory.php?newsid=51239
Islamists up in arms against Pak crackdown
Islamabad, July 22: Pakistan’s main Islamist parties planned nationwide rallies on Friday to protest against a sweeping government crackdown on suspected militants and Islamists following the July 7 London bombings.
Nearly 300 people have been detained across Pakistan since revelations that three of the four bombers in London attacks were British Muslims of Pakistani origin who had visited the country before the attacks.
They have been detained in raids on private houses, mosques and madrasas, or Muslim religious schools, which are seen as having influenced the bombers.
“Our protest is against the raids being conducted on madrasas and mosques to appease the United States and the West,” said Shahid Shamsi, a spokesman for the Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal, Pakistan’s main alliance of Islamist parties.
He said the opposition grouping would hold anti-government and anti-US rallies in Islamabad, Karachi, Lahore and other major cities.
Islamists are opposed to President Pervez Musharraf’s support for the war on terrorism and have held protests before against his policy, but they have failed to draw big crowds.
In a televised address to the nation late on Thursday that focused on the crackdown after the London bombings, Musharraf called for a holy war against preachers of hate and announced steps to rein in militant Islamic schools and groups. He said all madrasas must register with authorities by December.
Pakistani officials say the three bombers entered Pakistan last year and at least one visited Islamic schools, some of which are seen as militant breeding grounds.
According to British diplomats in Islamabad, none of those detained in Pakistan had anything to do with the London bombings.
