Author:
Publication: The Times of India
- Internet Edition
Date: October 20, 2001
URL: http://www.timesofindia.com/articleshow.asp?art_id=1630914162
ISLAMABAD: In a bid to pacify hardliners
opposed to Pakistan supporting the US military action in Afghanistan, a
senior minister has urged the Islamic clerics to restrain their emotions
towards Taliban as Islamabad has to "save its nuclear assets to fight a
war against India."
Pakistan has to save its nuclear
capability and the atomic bomb for a war against India, Religious Affairs
Minister Mehmood Ahmad Ghazi told a gathering of Islamic clerics here on
Wednesday.
Addressing a seminar on Pakistan's
security and Ulemas role, he said, Islamabad was ready for a war with New
Delhi and since it was the first atomic power of the Islamic world, it
should not become the victim of farce emotions and sentiments, local Urdu
daily Ausaf reported today.
He asked the people to restrain
themselves on the Afghan issue as President Pervez Musharraf had taken
the right decision in Pakistan's national interest.
While attempting to save Pakistan,
Musharraf had opted for a lesser evil. "The bad thing is that our brethren
are being killed but, on the other hand, the destruction of Pakistan would
be worst and disastrous for the entire Islamic world," he added.
(PTI)
