Rosen praises Musharraf

Pakistan’s president deserves praise for his raid on a mosque, a U.S. Jewish leader said. “Pakistan’s President Pervez Musharraf has taken bold action against a network sponsoring extremism and terrorism in the heart of his country,” Jack Rosen, the chairman of the American Jewish Congress – Council for World Jewry said in a statement said in a statement Thursday. “Musharraf did what was necessary to destroy their sanctuary in the Red Mosque compound, in spite of opposition from large Islamist and radical parties and movements in Pakistan.” The raid on the Islamabad mosque this week ended with at least 87 dead, including a number of civilians. Under Rosen’s leadership, the AJCongress hosted Musharraf in 2005, the first time a Pakistani leader had openly dealt with a pro-Israel group. “In several meetings I have had with him, Musharraf expressed concern that his actions against terror often are not recognized in the United States,” Rosen said. This is an appropriate time for Americans to express solidarity with Musharraf for the leadership he has shown against these forces.”