BERLIN: Former military ruler Pervez Musharraf said that the times of military coups in Pakistan are over and the latest political developments have shown that the Supreme Court has set a bar on itself not to validate a military takeover.
“The West blames Pakistan for everything. Nobody asks the Indian prime minister, why did you arm your country with a nuclear weapon? Why are you killing innocent civilians in Kashmir? Nobody was bothered that Pakistan got split in 1971 because of India’s military involvement. The United States and Germany gave statements, but they didn’t mean anything,” ex-dictator Pervez Musharraf said in an interview with German magazine Der Spiegel.
Musharraf charged the international community of courting India for strategic deals, while treating Pakistan as a rogue state.
“Everybody is interested in strategic deals with India, but Pakistan is always seen as the rogue,” Musharraf said.
When asked about the current crisis in Pakistan he said, ‘I do not want to comment on the present government, but everybody can see what they are doing. Pakistan is experiencing a deep economic decline — in other areas, as well. Law and order are in jeopardy, extremism is on the rise and there is political turmoil. The non-performance of an elected government is the issue’.
While replying to a question about incumbent army chief he remarked, ‘I made him chief of the army, because I thought that he was the best man for the job’.
When asked, what did the United States offer you in exchange for nukes?
He said, ‘I would be a traitor if I had ever given our nuclear weapons to the United States. This capability is our pride and it will never be compromised’.
Commenting on rise of extremism and Afghan problem he noted, the West made three blunders so far: After the Soviet withdrawal from Afghanistan, they abandoned the region in 1989. Then, after 9/11, they fought the Taliban instead of strengthening the Pashtuns who could have taken on the radical Taliban. Now you try to negotiate with so-called “moderate Taliban,” but there is no such thing as a moderate Taliban. There are Taliban and Pashtuns. But as I have always said: All Taliban are Pashtun, but not all Pashtun people are Taliban. Again, you should reinforce the ancient Pashtun clans who are not ideologically aligned with the Taliban to govern Afghanistan and to fight the Taliban. That’s my strong advice. The fourth and worst blunder would be to quit without winning. Then militancy will prevail not only in Pakistan, India and Kashmir, but perhaps also in Europe, the United Kingdom and in the United States. That’s my belief’.
“The West was ignoring the resolution of the Kashmir issue, which is the core issue of Pakistan. We expected the West – especially the United States and important countries like Germany – to resolve the Kashmir issue. Has Germany done that?” Musharraf told magazine Der Spiegel when asked about lingering Kashmir issue.
He slammed the international community, particularly the West, for persistently ignoring the Kashmir issue, and for singling out Pakistan for all blames.
“They (underground fighting groups) were indeed formed,” Musharraf said.
About Dr Abdul Qadeer he said, ‘Mr. Khan is a characterless man’.
Source: The News