PALO ALTO (California), Jan 17: Former president Gen (retd) Pervez Musharraf said on Friday that anyone involved in Mumbai attacks must be punished, but warned that ‘hysteria’ in India over the deadly siege threatened stability in the subcontinent.

“If there is proof, there must be action,” Musharraf said at an event at the Stanford University. But he added: “Let us not get hyper about it and whip up hysteria in the country so that the process of peace gets totally disrupted.”

Mr Musharraf offered his thoughts on combating terrorism, the roots of extremism, the state of Pakistan-India relations and other issues at the Stanford University, where he gave a speech and answered questions from students. The former military ruler is on his first speaking tour in the United States since he resigned as president in August to avoid impeachment.

Mr Musharraf urged the US and the international community to offer more financial and political support to help Pakistan combat terrorism and extremism.

“The people of Pakistan are fed up with these suicide bombers and these extremists. They demand their elimination,” he said. “Pakistan’s success in fighting terrorism is vital for the whole world.”

Mr Musharraf said while it was important to bring extremist groups under control, it was even more important to resolve the dispute over Kashmir, an issue he says has inflamed tensions between the two countries and given rise to militant groups.

He said that poverty, illiteracy and political alienation – as well as political disputes over Palestine, Kashmir and other territories – were among the root causes of terrorism, and those issues had to be addressed in order to rid the world of terrorists.—AP