ATTOCK, Jan 15: Asif Ali Zardari, husband of the former prime minister, Benazir Bhutto, has said that despite an impending war over Kashmir, the Kashmir problem will linger on as it serves the interests of the Indian and Pakistani establishments.

He was speaking to newsmen at the Attock Accountability Court, headed by judge Furrukh Latif and housed in the Attock Fort. He was escorted by the NAB authorities from Rawalpindi to appear in an assets case pending before the Attock court.

He said war was inevitable owing to the growing tension on the borders. “War is a curse, which brings crime and poverty. India and Pakistan, both are poor countries, and they can’t afford it”, he added.

He refused to comment on the recent ban on sectarian and Jihadi groups by President Pervez Musharraf.”I am waiting for an official statement by the PPP on the issue, after which I will comment on it,” he added.

“In the 20th-Century West, people were drafted into private armies which would go ahead of the regular armies, but we have adopted this concept in the 21st Century,” he added.

He said the current polarization was a carry-over of Zia’s period, who had torn society apart for his own interests. “Nobody knows what will be the fallout of Gen Musharraf’s policies”, he added.

To a question, he said Benazir Bhutto would certainly return to Pakistan. She and her mother had braved worst torture during Zia’s dictatorship.

He said it had been made the fate of the Third World countries to groan under military dictatorships.”When dictators come into power they force popular leaders to flee the country and when they (dictators) are overthrown, popular leaders return,” he added.

About PML, he said Nawaz Sharif represented the real PML and he had great support behind him. “The like-minded group will emerge as villains, because the hero will be someone else,” he observed. He said that cloning would not work in politics. Non-political entities being promoted by the rulers would ultimately push the country into further chaos, he added.