LONDON, Sept 30: The United States and its allies will fail in the so-called war on terror without the support of Pakistan and its intelligence service, President Gen Pervez Musharraf said on Saturday.

In an interview with BBC radio, the president was asked for his response to the view that Pakistan was not a good ally in the fight against extremism because of the alleged links between terrorism and his country.

“You will be brought down to your knees if Pakistan doesn’t cooperate with you. That is all that I would like to say. Pakistan is the main ally. If we were not with you, you would not manage anything. Let that be clear,” he said.

“And if the ISI is not with you, you will fail. Let that be very clear also. Remember my words: if the ISI is not with you and Pakistan is not with you, you will lose in Afghanistan.”

Gen Musharraf pointed to ISI’s and Pakistan Army’s successes in the war on terror, particularly the capture of suspected Al Qaeda militants. He said ISI had rounded up 700 Al Qaeda militants, including the alleged mastermind of the Sept 11, 2001 attacks Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, and raided their sanctuaries in North and South Waziristan.

He said they (army and ISI) played a key role in foiling an alleged terror plot to blow up US-bound passenger jets on Aug 10 this year.

He called for more understanding of Pakistan’s predicament as it struggled with the continuing fallout from the Cold War played out by proxy in Soviet-occupied Afghanistan in the 1980s.

“From 1979 to 1989 we fought the Soviet Union for you. We won the Cold War for you,” Gen Musharraf said, explaining that the Pakistan army and ISI had played a part in training the tens of thousands of Mujahideen fighters to resist the Soviets.

But after the Soviet withdrawal, the West left Pakistan high and dry, he said, leading to the creation of the radicalised Taliban and Al Qaeda from the remnants of the Mujahideen resistance.

“The world must understand our problem. It is for you that we did it and we are suffering,” he told the broadcaster. “Our national fabric has been torn.

“Now, without understanding, everyone blames us for what is happening in Pakistan. It is something that is happening, understand it and help us.”

—AFP/ Reuters