Musharraf now ready to tackle extremists

Pakistani president General Pervez Musharraf said today he was in a much stronger position now to campaign against religious extremists in his Muslim nation than during a limited crackdown in 2002.

“I am in a totally different environment,” said Musharraf, whose security forces have arrested nearly 600 suspected militants in the past 10 days. The president plans a stricter oversight of religious schools where extremist are thought to be active.