Calling all readers in Pakistan: Could this account be right????

Can you corroborate this Christian Science Monitor report? (A publication I might point out for readers who aren't familiar with it, doesn't have the Christian bias you might think it had from its name.)

What I'm interested in here is could this be true that President Musharraf's storming of the Lal Masjid is a move that's being more applauded than reviled? According to the Monitor:

By authorizing a raid against a rebel mosque in the capital city of Islamabad, he took decisive action against Pakistani extremists – something critics charge that he has so far been loath to do. The leaders of the Lal Masjid, or Red Mosque, had taken hostages, preached anti-Western rhetoric, and for six months defied government orders to close.

The raid has already sparked outrage and violence in Pakistan's hinterlands, where the roots of Islamist extremism are deepest. But it has also accomplished something almost unheard of in recent months: an outpouring of support for the embattled president.

For those of you who missed the lead-up to this story, the Monitor provides this background:

Leaders of the mosque and students from an affiliated madrassah, or religious school, had barricaded themselves into the complex, protesting an order to destroy the mosque, which the government claimed was illegally built.

Government authorities say the assault began at 4 a.m. Tuesday morning, when troops stormed the compound and were met with machine-gun fire and grenade attacks.

At press time, officials claimed that government troops controlled 70 percent of the compound, and were fighting the students from room to room.

They estimated that 70 militants had been captured, while as many as 60 had been killed, along with eight soldiers and the leader of the mosque, Abdul Rashid Ghazi.

Now here's the fascinating part of this story:

Despite the reports of bloodshed, the anger of most Pakistanis Tuesday appeared to be directed at the clerics of the Red Mosque, not the president.

"All those inside are terrorists and they have held innocent people and students hostage," says Bakht Rawan of Peshawar, whose relatives had sent their children to the seminary for studies. "Maulana [Abdul] Rashid Ghazi is responsible for all the killings and sufferings of parents and their children trapped inside the compound," he adds.

Even in Peshawar, about 100 miles west of Islamabad where the Taliban have exerted increasing influence, many agree with him. "We have earned a very bad name in the world because of some crazy people like [this]," says Naseeb Zada, a schoolteacher here. "What is happening should have happened much earlier."

Naturally not everyone the Monitor spoke to applauded the government. As the Monitor report continued:

Indeed, news of the mosque raid prompted violent protests in such remote regions. Militants and students from madrassahs burned and looted the offices of the French Red Cross and Care International in one district of Northwest Frontier Province on Tuesday. Army and paramilitary troops had to be called to stabilize the situation.

In Peshawar, there are those with their doubts about the government's intentions, too. "Musharraf is doing all this to please the Americans," says Muhammad Arshad, a graduate from a religious seminary. "He is killing fellow Muslims to earn dollars."

Anyway, email me if you have something to say to add to this report.