'Allah, Army and America are Musharraf's allies'

ISLAMABAD: A prominent Pakistani leader has said 'Allah, Army and America' backed the Musharraf regime, which cannot be pressured by the Opposition parties to quit over the suspension of Supreme Court Chief Justice Iftikhar M Chaudhry.

"By gathering a few hundred people in Islamabad, the Opposition tried to give the impression that the public was with it. Allah, the Army and America are with us, besides the people," Chief Minister of Sindh province Arbab Ghulam told a May Day rally in Karachi.

'Allah, Army and America' was the title of a book by an American scholar who regarded the three as the most important pillars in Pakistan.

The Chief Minister, an ardent supporter of Musharrf, used the title of the book to describe the strength of Musharraf whose regime currently faced a major political crisis following the suspension of Supreme Court Chief Justice.

Rahim said Musharraf regime had the blessings of Allah as Musharraf himself, Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz, a Corps commander, and recently Interior Minister Aftab Sherpao had survived suicide bomb attacks.

He said President Musharraf was more democratic than 'so-called' democratic leaders, despite being in uniform.

The Chief Minister said that the ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Q too could have organised rallies in front of the supreme court but the party did not want any confrontation with the Opposition.

He said, however, that organising such a rally was necessary to show that the public was in favour of the president and not the opposition on the issue of the suspension of Chaudhry.