SYDNEY, March 15: Australia on Thursday threw its support behind President Pervez Musharraf, calling him an important figure in the global fight against terrorism. Foreign Minister Alexander Downer said he hoped Musharraf could “hold on” in the face of an outbreak of protests over the suspension of the chief justice of Pakistan.

“President Musharraf is a very important figure in the fight against terrorism,” Mr Downer told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.

“The prospect of some alternative leader of Pakistan coming from nowhere and us having no sense of what that person's view would be on terrorism, that's a worry for us.

“We certainly hope that President Musharraf is able to hold on… I've no reason to believe he's not,” he said.—AFP