ISLAMABAD, June 22: Pakistani troops will “teach India a lesson” if it invades Kashmir, President Pervez Musharraf said in a television interview.

The military leader, in a BBC interview first aired on Friday, said he “couldn’t care less” about India’s recent moves to wind down tensions between the nuclear-armed rivals.

“We don’t see de-escalation as a response,” Musharraf said.

“We couldn’t care less whether they de-escalate or not,” he added. “We are totally prepared for them and we will teach them a lesson if they come across the Line of Control.

“They dare not violate our international border, they dare not violate the Line of Control. We will teach them a lesson on the ground, in the air.”

Musharraf dismissed India’s recent naval withdrawal from waters off southern Pakistan as self-serving.

“They called back their navy — what for? Let them remain in the high seas. They’re not bothering us,” he said. “It was bothering themselves, therefore they called them back.”

“They are not doing us any favour by de-escalating. They shouldn’t be talking of it. We don’t want them to de-escalate — they can carry on remaining on the borders. We know what is hurting them.”

He also admitted the Al Qaeda terrorist network may be behind the series of high-profile attacks on Westerners in Pakistan — culminating in last week’s deadly bomb attack at the US consulate in Karachi — but dropped strong hints India could also have had a hand in them.

“There certainly is a possibility of Al Qaeda being there,” he said.

“I would say it is somebody, an organization, a group or a country, may I say, which is not too happy with whatever good we are doing in Pakistan.

“They are not too happy with Pakistan developing improved relations with the United States, they are not too happy with our defence development in the form of the submarines with the French.

“They are not happy with our economic development, they want to again put a dent in the investment climate in Pakistan,” he said.

“So who can that be? Al Qaeda is one, certainly RAW and Indian backing is another possibility,” he said, referring to the Indian Research and Analysis Wing intelligence agency.—AFP