Author: PTI
Publication: The Hindustan Times
Date: June 23, 2002
URL: http://www.hindustantimes.com/nonfram/230602/dlfor12.asp
Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf
has denied giving an "assurance" to US of permanently ending cross-border
terrorism and said it was linked to India's response to its demand for
"discussion on Kashmir".
"I've told President Bush nothing
is happening across the Line of Control. This is the assurance I've given.
I'm not going to give you an assurance that for years nothing will happen.
We have to have response from India, a discussion about Kashmir," Musharraf
said in an interview in the latest issue of Newsweek.
Even during his recent discussions
with American Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage, he said they
did not talk about dismantling of terrorist training camps in the Pakistan
Occupied Kashmir.
"Kashmir is witnessing a freedom
struggle. What I said was that there would is no movement across the Line
of Control," he said.
Musharraf also blamed Indian Intelligence
Agency RAW for recent bomb blasts in Pakistan and said it was engineered
as "India do not want Islamabad to get close to US".
Accusing India of buying billions
of dollars worth of weapons from Russia and the West and said, "If they
tilt the conventional balance, we shall have to restore it."
Asked whether he would like the
United States to bring about some kind of settlement between India and
Pakistan, he replied "America is the only country which can persuade India
to initiate a dialogue and move towards a solution of Kashmir. Bilateralism
has not worked."
Asked about reports that Indian
army wanted to conduct strikes against terrorist training camps in Pakistan
occupied Kashmir, he said, "We would have taught them a lesson. This is
not a small country. This is not Afghanistan."
Replying to a question, he said
India and Pakistan had come very close to having a war. "As far as Pakistan
is concerned, we said we will not initiate war but if attacked, will defend
offensively."
Asked if this is a turning point
in the relations between the two countries or just a pause between crises,
he replied this is certainly a turning point for the good.
"But India needs to move forward
on the initiation of dialogue on Kashmir. So we are looking for a response
from India." he said.
To a question whether some kind
of autonomy for Kashmir or accepting Line of Control as border would a
solution to Kashmir, Musharraf replied, "That's just not possible. If Line
of Control is to be border, what have we fought these two wars for?"
Asked whom he held responsible for
recent bomb blasts in the country, he said Al- Qaeda is one possibility.
But the other is Indian intelligence agency RAW.
"RAW does a lot of anti-Pakistan
activity. So many bomb blasts are taking place. Who is brewing this? Obviously,
they are RAW-inspired. They (Indians) do not like us getting close to the
US. They had thought after Sept 11, Pakistan would declared a terrorist
state."
He described Indian Prime Minister
Atal Bihari Vajpayee's statement that Pakistan knew the whereabouts of
Osama bin Laden and Al-Qaeda fighters are as an attempt to "malign" his
country.
Denying inaction against Pakistani
fundamentalists, Musharraf told the magazine that "About 660 extremists
are still behind the bars. Their parties are banned. Their leaders are
behind the bars."
Asked whether the extremists groups
are under control, he replied that he could not say that the law and order
situation is excellent. "They have their sympathizers.
On whether he plans to return the
country to a more democratic system, Musharraf said elections will be held
in October and asserted that the country has the "most democratic system
now."
"All the democratically elected
governments here have bee n autocratic. I am a dictator, all right, because
I am not elected. But I think my functioning is most democratic."
