ISLAMABAD, Aug 29: President Pervez Musharraf has said that the recent constitutional changes were not aimed at strengthening his position ahead of the general election in October.
“This is a total misperception of whatever I am trying to do,” he said in an interview with the BBC broadcast on Thursday.
“I know the politicians say that, and the media, but nothing could be further from the truth.”
The president also admitted Al Qaeda activists were operating in Pakistan.
“To a degree it causes anxiety because they (Al Qaeda) are coming into the cities... that is bad because they carry out destabilisation so yes, this is a worrisome act.
“But I don’t think it’s widespread. I think they are more on the borders if at all they are there.”
He added: “I can’t specify the involvement in the terrorist acts. There is no surety as yet — there are some indications that maybe there was some foreign element involved ... but this is more our own extremists, I think.”
EX-PREMIERS: To a question about former prime ministers, Gen Musharraf said no “sane” person would want either of the former prime ministers Nawaz Sharif and Benazir Bhutto back in power. Both are barred from another term in office under new electoral rules.
“This nation has had these two for 11 years ... why should any sane person, why should one allow them to participate in this election?
“Should we take a chance that they should come back and again one of them become the prime minister?”
He defended the National Security Council, and denied he was trying to grab more power.
“If I was to take power for myself, as a person, I would not make the National Security Council,” he said.
“I would just remove the 13th amendment and I would have the power to dismiss the assembly.
“Why would I want 12 people to sit with me and decide that?”
Musharraf said the changes to the structure of government were forward-looking improvements.
“This was futuristic because I am not a permanent feature of this country,” he said. “Somebody else is going to become President some time in future who may be an impulsive man, over-reacting when things are not going wrong.
So it was an endeavour to address such issues keeping in mind the environment in Pakistan that these amendments were evolved, he said.
He said: “Democracy does not have a set formula. The democracy in Britain’s way is not received here. We need to adopt it to our own environment.”
KASHMIR ISSUE: Responding to a question on Kashmir, he said: “I have said that nothing is happening across the Line of Control”
But of course one could imagine that unless there is some progress or movement on Kashmir, some response, some reciprocation from the Indian side, how can one know that there is a lot of sympathy for Kashmiris here, lot of international support for Kashmiris, the president said.
ATTACK ON IRAQ OPPOSED: President Gen Pervez Musharraf warned the United States that it risked fresh turmoil in the Islamic world if it attacked Iraq.
“This would have very negative repercussions around the Islamic world,” Musharraf said.
“It is already dangerous that all political disputes at the moment all around the world are unfortunately involving Muslims,” he said. “Muslims are feeling that they are on the receiving end everywhere. So there is a feeling of alienation in the Muslim world and I think this will lead to further alienation.”
“We are on their side,” Musharraf said of Washington. “But that does not mean we can start participating in activities all around the world. Let’s deal with whatever is happening around our country.”
He predicted greater Islamic militancy in Pakistan if Iraq came under fire.
The President said invading Iraq would increase support for Osama and trigger a huge increase in anti-American sentiment. He said the region had enough on its hands already, and could not afford to get involved in anything else.
OSAMA: Musharraf said he did not know the fate of Osama bin Laden and added his best guess was that Osama was dead but that either way he would expect to know if he was hiding on the Pakistan side of its border with Afghanistan.
“Most likely he’s dead,” he said. “Most likely. It’s a guess. I can’t say.” He said Osama was definitely not in Pakistan.
“The Al Qaeda leader’s large contingent of bodyguards and the price on his head would certainly have led to the alarm being raised as soon as he crossed the border,” Gen Musharraf said.
He said Al Qaeda itself had been dealt a mortal blow. “I don’t think they can develop an infrastructure of the kind that existed before, specially, if there is stability in Afghanistan,” he said.
He dismissed, as “a perception in the media”, claims that the United States wanted him to act more decisively against Al Qaeda.
“We are certainly assisting them all the way,” he said. “We’ve suffered casualties.”—Agencies
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