UK and China praise Musharraf

British Prime Minister Gordon Brown telephoned President Pervez Musharraf on Thursday to praise his efforts to curb militancy and terrorism, a senior Pakistani official said. It was Brown's first contact with the Pakistani military ruler, a key ally in international attempts to tackle extremism, since taking over from Tony Blair on June 27.
"The British Prime Minister appreciated President Musharraf's key role in the fight against militancy and terrorism and promised to maintain close ties between the two countries," the official told AFP on condition of anonymity. The two leaders also discussed "long-standing bilateral ties between the two allies and agreed to further strengthen them," he said.
Brown's contact with Musharraf came as Pakistani security forces were battling to dislodge militants still holed up in Islamabad's Red Mosque. Sources said the mosque crisis also came up in the discussion between the two leaders, though the official would not confirm or deny it.
Meanwhile, China has also voiced the support for a crackdown by the Pakistan government on a mosque in Islamabad where armed militants exchanged gun fire with police. "As a friendly neighbour of Pakistan, China backs Pakistan's measures to safeguard social stability and economic development," foreign ministry spokesman Qin Gang told journalists.
Last month students from the mosque kidnapped seven Chinese people working in an Islamabad acupuncture clinic that the adductors insisted was a brothel. China has refused to comment on the prostitution allegations, saying only that the seven Chinese were operating a business that had all the necessary legal licences.
However, China urged Pakistan after the kidnapping to do a better job of protecting Chinese nationals. "We hope Pakistan will look into the terrorist attacks aiming at Chinese people and organisations as soon as possible and severely punish the criminals," Public Security Minister Zhou Yongkang said, without directly referring to the kidnappings. China is one of Pakistan's strongest allies and its main military supplier.