Musharraf vows to curb extremist groups

President Pervez Musharraf vowed yesterday he would curb the extremist religious "minority" in Pakistan and strengthen the moderate majority that backed his decision to join the international war on terrorism in Afghanistan.

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President Pervez Musharraf vowed yesterday he would curb the extremist religious "minority" in Pakistan and strengthen the moderate majority that backed his decision to join the international war on terrorism in Afghanistan.

"Extremists have exposed themselves, Pakistan has rejected them," Musharraf said in a panel interview broadcast by the state-run television last night.

"I would like to move against them (extremists) in a concrete manner and see to it that the right of the vast moderate majority is established," the president said.

Musharraf said his policy had raised Pakistan's international stature and served its core concerns – unity, stability and security of the country, security of its strategic nuclear assets, economic development and Kashmir cause.

The president rejected apprehensions that ascendancy of the anti-Taliban Northern Alliance in Afghanistan was a cause of worry for Pakistan.

"We recognise Northern Alliance, each of its components. There is no need for any worry. Whatever government takes control in landlocked Afghanistan would be 'dependent' on Pakistan for trade. There is no reason they will not be friendly toward Pakistan."

Musharraf said the hasty Taliban retreat from Kabul had created a sudden vacuum that prompted the Northern Alliance to move in.

"One should not get upset. We should keep the end objective in mind and keep moving towards that."

The entry of Northern Alliance into Kabul was not by any design on the part of the coalition to let the Pashtuns down, he said.

Mushrraf underlined the need for representation of the Pashtun majority in a future setup and said that moderate elements who dissented with the hardcore Taliban could also have a role in it.

The president, hitting out at extremists elements in Pakistan, said their activities had damaged the economy as freight charges and insurance rates increased, adversely affecting trade. The government is trying to rectify the situation, he said.

Musharraf emphasised that it was in Pakistan's national interest to forge good relations with the United States.

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