Musharraf squeezed between global terror and local anger

President Pervez Musharraf, a key Western ally since the September 11, 2001 attacks on the United States, has earned praise abroad but criticism at home for ordering the arrests of some 300 suspected militants after it emerged the London bombers had ties to Pakistan.

The latest bloody attacks in Egypt are only likely to heighten international pressure on him to uproot Islamic extremists in a country many see as a breeding ground of global terror and the likely hideout of Osama bin Laden.

"He is caught between the devil of the West, which wants him to crush religious extremism, and the deep blue sea of taking on the entire religious community," said Lahore-based political commentator Mohammed Afzal Niazi.

General Musharraf, who once led troops in Kashmir, pinned his fate to the 'war on terror' after September 11 and allowed US forces to launch the 2001 Afghanistan invasion to unseat bin Laden and the Taliban from Pakistani soil.

Washington has since been a strong political and economic backer of Musharraf despite the fact he took power in a military coup and turned Pakistan into a declared nuclear state in its arms race with India.

Yet at home, Musharraf faces both open and silent opposition to each new crackdown he orders, both from Muslim clerics and the government and security apparatus over which he presides, said political scientist Hasan Askari.

Muslim protesters on Friday, the Muslim day of prayer, condemned Musharraf, who has escaped two assassination attempts for his pro-Western stance.