|
|
| September 26, 2006 | Tuesday | Ramazan 2, 1427 |
Havana accord called test for both countries
NEW YORK, Sept 25: The agreement reached on anti-terrorism mechanism between Pakistan and India in Havana is a test for both the countries, President Gen Pervez Musharraf said here on Sunday.
Commenting on Indian Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh’s statement that the anti-terrorism mechanism was a test for Pakistan, the president’s said the test was on both sides.
“The anti-terrorism institutional arrangement is required for both sides, we have also some observations about their interference in our country and therefore this institutional arrangement will give comfort to both India and Pakistan,” he said.
Appearing before the Pakistani media team on arrival from Texas on Sunday evening, the president rubbished all rumours of a failed coup in the country as utter nonsense and said Pakistan was not a banana republic where governments would be toppled while leaders were away.
Dressed in a casual outfit, he said: “Nonsense, nonsense, nonsense. Thank God our country is not a banana republic and there is no need to despair.”
He asserted that the situation in Pakistan was normal just as it was when he had left the country. He maintained he would return to Pakistan with a certain advantage.
Citing the example of Pakistan’s position on Afghanistan, he said: “There is now no misperception, we have informed all of our views and all are now on board with us.”
About the agenda of the trilateral meeting with President George Bush and President Hamid Karzai on Wednesday, he said: “Obviously we are going to discuss the situation in Afghanistan and tribal agencies in Pakistan.”
He said Al Qaeda and Taliban would also figure prominently in the discussions, and added: “I would like to certainly get the consensus on Taliban, who are they and who is commanding them and where they are. We need to clarify all this.”
He underscored the need for Afghanistan to understand the environment correctly and then work out a strategy and tactics of implementation. “As far as I am concerned, I’m very clear that we have corrected the perceptions.”
He said the route Pakistan had taken in North Waziristan had been acknowledged as the right way. He said the Waziristan peace treaty had the seeds of a success and if it proved successful it could be replicated in other tribal areas as well as across the border.
The president said he had been able to maintain a ‘very good secrecy’ of his book. When his attention was drawn to leaks of excerpts, he said given that the book was being translated into many languages, including Urdu, Chinese, French and German, that was bound to happen.
Later, Gen Musharraf addressed the Pakistani community at the Pehla Qadam fund-raising dinner hosted by Dr Nasim Ashraf.
On rumours about his health, he said the doctor after his medical check-up had declared him “very, very fit” and added: “There have been lots of rumours about my open heart surgery. I can’t possibly open my chest and show you...I’m much stronger because nothing is wrong with my machinery.”
He said his meeting with the Indian prime minister in Havana was ‘very useful’ and the joint statement issued at the end had the seeds of resolution of all disputes, including Jammu and Kashmir, Siachen and Sir Creek.
The president had words of praise for the Indian premier. “I see Manmohan Singh as a man with sincerity and he has the desire to resolve all disputes in a serious manner,” he noted.
In reply to a question about democracy, his response was: “I am a soldier and am asked to speak about democracy! I am proud of the fact that I have introduced sustainable democracy in Pakistan and I am in power through a very democratic process.”
He referred to Nawab Bugti as the most cruel despot and said people were happy that he was gone. To make his point further he mentioned a piece on Nawab Bugti in the Economist magazine. He made it clear that anyone who challenged the writ of the government would be dealt with firmly.
Gen Musharraf accused clerics of promoting sectarianism called them hypocrites. “They give sermons of brotherhood but are themselves intolerant and hypocrites. They create dissent in society even on method of prayers but we will crate religious harmony.”
|
|
