Tuesday, October 9, 2001 Home > World > Article News Home National World Opinion Entertainment Column 8 a.m. Edition Text Index -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Sport Sports News Rugby Heaven RealFooty -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Biz/Tech Biz-Tech News Money Manager Trading Room I.T. News Icon -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Extra Letters Editorial Web Diary Spike News Review Spectrum Travel Multimedia -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Sydney Weather TV Guide Visiting Weekends Away -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Market Shopping Jobs Property Buy/Sell Cars Auctions I.T. Jobs Classifieds -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Services Advertise - print - online Delivery - paper - e-mail - handheld Subculture -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Help Audio/video - WORLD Musharraf muzzles Islamic sympathisers Protesters in Karachi burn an effigy of US President George Bush. Photo: AFP By Christopher Kremmer, Herald Correspondent in Islamabad It was the morning after, and plumes of smoke rose from ruined buildings - not the aftermath of United States air strikes on Afghanistan, but the predicted hostile reaction to them in neighbouring Pakistan. Facing the most serious threat yet to his two-year-old military government, General Pervez Musharraf has prepared for the worst, detaining extremist religious leaders and ordering a reshuffle of his top brass to remove Islamist sympathisers. "I know that the people of Pakistan are with my Government," General Musharraf said. But even as the 58-year-old leader was assuring the nation that he was in control, a mob numbering 10,000 took to the streets of the provincial capital, Quetta, attacking police stations, cinemas and commercial premises and vehicles. Police replied with repeated volleys of tear gas and what sounded like automatic gunfire. In Islamabad, riot police were deployed outside the US Information Centre as several hundred protesters tried to march towards it. In Peshawar, tear gas was fired to disperse angry students. United Nations expatriate staff were advised to stay home, and police in Quetta refused to allow journalists to leave their hotels. Religious leaders calling for holy war against the US have been placed under house arrest. If the protests gather force they could pose a serious threat to support for Operation Enduring Freedom within the key Muslim country backing the action. General Musharraf told a news conference he had been given advance notice of air strikes by missiles which had used designated Pakistani air corridors. Hours before the strikes, the head of Pakistani intelligence, Lieutenant-General Mehmood Ahmed, was retired, and General Mohammed Aziz Khan - the Lahore Corps commander widely seen as the army's most senior Islamist - was kicked upstairs to the largely ceremonial position of chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee. Although General Musharraf denied any connection, the changes were seen as an attempt to remove potential coup-makers and Taliban sympathisers from the army's senior ranks. Dressed in his army uniform, General Musharraf said he was "reasonably sure" the strikes had been targeted on specific sites and were not a form of indiscriminate bombing of major cities. "This operation should not be perceived as a war against Afghanistan or the people of Afghanistan. It's an action against terrorists, terrorism and their sanctuaries and their supporters," he said. General Musharraf said he had been assured that the strikes would be short-lived, but could not give a timeframe. In other major statements of his government's position, General Musharraf said: Pakistan was not opposed to a role for the former Afghan king, Zahir Shah, in helping shape a post-Taliban government; and Pakistan could not cope with another major inflow of Afghan refugees and wanted any new camps to be established on the Afghan side of the border. Warning of a power vacuum in Afghanistan following the probable collapse of the Taliban, General Musharraf said the opposition Northern Alliance - whose previous rule in Afghanistan was marked by atrocities - should not be allowed to expand its power. "If this void is filled by the Northern Alliance ... I think we will return to anarchy and atrocities and the criminal killing of each other again. To avoid that, certainly the Northern Alliance must be kept in check," he said. General Musharraf also warned India to stop threats of war and attempts to make milage out of Pakistan's problems with its own Islamist extremist groups. "We know how to defend ourselves, and we have the power to defend ourselves," he said. [go to top] In this section Kabul rocked but defiant Enduring fury: the opening blitz Warplane pilots fear for those at home Bid to win hearts and minds with air drop Raids aimed to reduce terrorist camps to dust Get out the lamb and sticky rice, it's rebel party time Taliban warns US of "severe" consequences Admitting guilt and twisting theology Taliban will conduct guerilla war when ground attack starts US braces for further global attacks Americans cheer, then fear the terror to come Grainy pictures of a hazy conflict Beyond the bread and bombs Europe rallies to fight against 'human plague' Musharraf muzzles Islamic sympathisers Israel supportive, Arafat quiet Iran toughens controls amid fears of new refugee surge S-E Asia backlash threatens foreigners 118 dead in Milan plane crash Giant joins bid to drag Kursk from mud tomb Sorry about the war, Japan PM tells China Hate singers rounded up as police swoop in three cities McGuinness 'gets key IRA role' Fertile findings on power of prayer Mystery death puts heat on soccer club-owning mayor -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Site Guide | Archive | Feedback | Privacy Policy Copyright © 2001. All rights reserved.