LONDON, Oct 5: Former president Pervez Musharraf has told a German magazine that his forces trained militant groups to fight in Indian-held Kashmir. He told the Der Spiegel the Nawaz Sharif government turned a blind eye because it wanted to put pressure on India to enter talks.

Mr Musharraf said in the interview that militant groups “were indeed formed” in part because of the international community's “apathy” over the Kashmir dispute.

The retired general also indicated that he did not regret the Kargil intrusion that led to skirmishes with India in 1999. “It is the right of any country to promote its own interests when India is not prepared to discuss Kashmir at the UN and resolve the dispute in a peaceful manner,” he said.—Agencies