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Pakistan | The last battle | Economist.com

Pakistan | The last battle | Economist.com: "The government’s long reluctance to use force at the Lal Masjid had a simple explanation: it wanted to avoid bloodshed. But it has prompted other, less charitable, interpretations. The two brothers and their father, who founded the mosque, had close connections with Pakistan’s powerful intelligence services. As a reminder of the extremist danger, the Lal Masjid helped bolster General Musharraf’s image as a bastion of “enlightened moderation” in Islam. So too, without belittling General Musharraf’s undoubted courage, did the latest attempt on his life, by machine-guns aiming at his distant helicopter."

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