Lal Masjid operation 'not a matter of victory or defeat'

ISLAMABAD: Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf has hailed the troops who took part in the operation to flush out militants barricaded in Lal Masjid here and said it was essential to take action against the radicals who were misinterpreting Islam.
 
"This is not a matter of victory or defeat," Musharraf said on Saturday, adding that the elements present inside the mosque were misinterpreting Islam for their own benefit and
were misleading people as well as creating chaos in the society.
 
"Pakistan is an Islamic country where we are leading our lives according to the true practices of Islam but there are few who are exploiting the social evils in the name of
Islam, which is a wrong practice," he was quoted as saying by the media on Sunday.
 
Musharraf said the government took every possible step to solve the matter in a peaceful manner by holding talks with the administration of Lal Masjid and Jamia Hafsa but they disregarded every such effort and it became inevitable for the government to take action against the militants. 

The President also expressed grief over the loss of civilian lives. "Though it is a matter of sorrow for all of us but I appreciate the courage of the troops who took risks in evacuating the innocent students of Lal Masjid and Jamia Hafsa, as it was the policy of the government that maximum number of lives be saved and that the loss of the lives be
kept at minimum," he said.