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Published 18 Nov, 2012 12:03am

Need stressed to ‘bury the hatchet’: No regrets over Kargil: Musharraf in Delhi

NEW DELHI, Nov 17: Former president Pervez Musharraf said here on Saturday that he had no regrets about waging the Kargil war with India, and urged both countries to peacefully end their standoff, including the Kashmir dispute, the core of their differences.

Gen (retd) Musharraf, who arrived from Dubai to attend an international conclave, told CNN-IBN he did not know if ISI was operating terror camps against India.

“You divided half of our country. We are not talking about that. Why are we not talking about Siachen? I am not going to comprise on the honour and dignity of Pakistan. I have no regrets for Kargil,” Gen Musharraf said.

Earlier, he told the conclave organised by the Hindustan Times that India and Pakistan needed to “bury the hatchet” and settle their differences to reduce poverty and ease tensions in the region.

“We need to resolve the long-standing disputes between India and Pakistan because these are the causes of hatred, causes of conflict and the wars,” Gen Musharraf said.

“It’s doable,” he said, talking of resolving Indo-Pak disputes. But “compromise should come from the bigger party. India should have a big heart because it is the bigger country,” he said.

Gen Musharraf said that all outstanding disputes between India and Pakistan should be dealt with at the same time rather than following a “step-by-step” process. Chief among the conflicts is the Kashmir dispute, he said. “This is actually the root cause which spawns not only war” but also “religious militancy in Pakistan.”

About the fate of Afghanistan, Mr Musharraf said the country faced two possible scenarios when US troops pull out in 2014. “Either Afghanistan goes back to 1989, when the Soviets left and warlords began fighting, or it goes back to 1996, when the Taliban came. If the US leaves a minimum force, then the situation should be maintainable,” he said.

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