Swamy asks New Delhi not to endanger Musharraf's position

New Delhi, Mar 17 (UNI) Janata Party President Subramanian Swamy today exhorted New Delhi not endanger the position of Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf who is facing a crisis over the suspension of the country's Chief Justice Iftekhar Chaudhury.

''It is better to deal with a 'known devil','' Dr Swamy said in a statement.

Dr Swamy said India should not misjudge the position of Gen Musharraf whose opponents were ''most rabid Islamic fundamentalists'' and the politicians who encouraged the Taliban takeover in Afghanistan when they were in power. They had capitulated to the hardline Islamists on social reforms, Dr Swamy, a former Union Law Minister who has moved close to the RSS, said.

He said Gen Musharraf had not delivered on his past promise in curbing terrorist infiltration into India but ''it does not mean his successor would be any better. The devil we know is better than devil unknown", as the adage goes, he said without referring to Gen Musharraf's problems in Baluchistan or his brush with the Judiciary.

UNI