Fighters formed to be used in Held Kashmir: Musharraf

BERLIN: Former military ruler Pervez Musharraf said that fighters were indeed formed to fight Indian occupation in Held Kashmir and the government turned a blind eye because they wanted India to discuss Kashmir.

"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'.

"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 were indeed formed. The government turned a blind eye because they wanted India to discuss Kashmir.'

Answering a question on dangers on homecoming he said, no risk, no gain. We unfortunately have a culture of vendetta and vindictiveness in Pakistan. But there is no case of corruption or fraud or anything against me at the moment. My political opponents, especially Nawaz Sharif, would love to create a case against me -- that I am corrupt or have committed fraud or some such. They do their best to achieve that, but they haven't succeeded. Even if they did, I would reply in court. Risks need to be taken.

Rejecting claim by Dr Abdul Qadeer that the Pakistani army monitored and organized deals with countries like North Korea and Iran he said; 'That is wrong, absolutely wrong. Mr. Khan is a characterless man.'