Europe to suffer if Pak war on terror fails: Musharraf

By Rauf Klasra

LONDON: President Pervez Musharraf on Friday warned the Western countries against criticising him or be prepared to face the consequences of failure in the war against terrorism in Pakistan.

He said such an eventuality would have its impact on the streets of whole of Europe, as the stability of the whole region and even the world depends on this war that must be won at all costs.

Addressing members of a British think tank, Royal United Services Institute for Defence and Security Studies (RUSI) on “vision for Pakistan, regional harmony”, the president assured Europeans that very soon the main architect of suicide bombings in Pakistan, Baitullah Mehsud, would be eliminated and the bombings would come to an end.

He also gave firm assurances to hold free, fair and transparent elections on February 18. The president also reminded the West in general and Americans in particular that after fighting a war in Afghanistan against the former USSR for ten years, they all “ditched” Pakistan.

Musharraf said Americans and Europeans trained and armed Taliban within Afghanistan to fight against Russians. This was a big military victory that was made possible only with the efforts and collaboration of Pakistan, America and Europe who brought all kinds of Muslim fighters to the region to fight against the communist forces.

He said they failed to convert the military victory into a political one at the end of the Cold War, in which Pakistan and its intelligence agencies had played a major role. He said Afghanistan was left to the warlords to settle their own scores without involvement from any side which culminated in the events of 9/11.

He recounted efforts Pakistan had made to deal with the situation arising out of terrorism following 9/11 incident.The president said Pakistani law-enforcement agencies had played a major role in bringing the situation under control. He said number of those fighting against the Pakistan Army had reduced quite considerably as majority of them had already been killed.

He said his government was also trying to adopt some political strategies to win this war in tribal areas.He said cities were cleared of al-Qaeda elements after 600 of them were arrested from different cities.

He said the Western countries had developed some concerns with regard to his recent steps in Pakistan starting from the removal of the chief justice of Pakistan on March 9, imposition of emergency and human rights situation.

He said they all need to understand that he had to take extreme measures to deal with an extraordinary situation.Musharraf criticised the deposed chief justice of Pakistan and other sacked judges for launching judicial activism. He blamed the deposed chief justice for corruption and claimed that he indulged in nepotism. He said although his fellow judges restored him without any legal provisions, he accepted the decision of the court, as in his opinion the Pakistan comes first.

He said he had taken action against the judiciary after it became partisan in its judgments. He said these judges had made mockery of the judiciary and it all affected the functioning of the government. They started taking suo moto actions on very insignificant issues.

To a question about statements of US presidential candidates regarding sending US troops into Pakistani territories, he said they (candidates) do not have any idea about the situation, as it was very different to be in the government office particularly when you get intelligence briefings in the morning.

He also warned that Americans do not understand tribal areas so they should not think of launching military operations there, as they would find it difficult to handle the situation afterwards. He said Pakistan was a sovereign country and he knew how to deal with its problems. He said people in Pakistan would not respond positively to US intrusion.

Musharraf said during his tenure the country had attained unprecedented growth on economic front. He said he could not see his efforts go waste and; therefore, has to take extreme measures in extraordinary situations.

He said the mode of agitation in countries like Pakistan was different from those of London and other civilised cities as people in Pakistan burn tyres on streets, plunder banks and indulge in bloodshed so they have to be dealt with differently.

He said he had serious complaints against world human rights institutions. He wondered why they were interested in imposing their level of rights in a country like Pakistan. He said what policemen should do to stop those people from crossing barricades if not to hit them with rods. Should they offer sweets to protesters who agitate violently on streets? During President Musharraf’s address, a large number of Pakistanis kept chanting slogans against him outside the building.

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Regards

Aarwaa

Pakistan is ruled by three As - Army, America and Allah.