Saturday, January 29 2005 22:30 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

Islamabad: In an apparent attempt to counter the opposition to his continuation as President and Army Chief by hardline Islamic parties, Pervez Musharraf today (Jan 29, 2005) said the "silent moderate majority" of Pakistan should make concerted efforts to curb extremism.

"The time demands that all moderate forces make concerted efforts to curb extremism, which is a major challenge confronting the nation, when the country is moving forward on the path of sustainable development and democracy," he told a public meeting at Okara in Pakistan's Punjab province.

"The silent moderate majority of the people must stand up to quell the minority of extremists who want to push Pakistan backward," Musharraf, dressed in military fatigues, said.

His initiative to address a public meet followed the month-long agitation by the Islamist alliance Muthahida Majlis Amal (MMA) against his decision not to quit as Army Chief by Dec 2004 and continue to hold the dual offices till his term as President ended in 2007.

Also, this is the first time that Musharraf appealed to the country's moderate Opposition political parties to join him to fight against the extremists.

The Pakistan Peoples Party, (PPP) headed by self exiled former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto and Pakistan Muslim League-N (PML-N) headed by exiled former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif have been opposing Musharraf, who till last year effectively made use of the MMA support to get his constitutional amendments ratified and consolidate his hold on power.