London: In a volte-face, Pakistan's former
military ruler Pervez Musharraf has said that all terror
outfits in his country came into existence on their own, days
after admitting that Islamabad had trained underground
militant groups to fight in Kashmir.
"All these 'Mujahideen' groups got created on their own.
I've never said that and there was a little misunderstanding
in what I was saying, that got politicised in Pakistan and
then people writing in India. But that's not the case,"
Musharraf told an Indian TV channel.
His remarks came in response to a question on his
interview to German magazine Der Spiegel during which he said
that Pakistan had created the underground militant groups to
fight against India in Kashmir.
"I'm not that naive to pass such a comment. There is no
question of the army, intelligence or the ISI creating
'Mujahideen' groups, training them and sending them in. That's
not the case and it does not require to be done.
"There is a huge public sympathy in Pakistan and there
are thousands of people who are volunteers to go to Kashmir
and to fight for their Kashmiri brothers. I would say the
Indian government should realise that they must stop
atrocities in Kashmir," Musharraf told CNN-IBN.
The former President, who has been living in London in
self-imposed exile for nearly two years, said all the
'Mujahideen' groups get strengthened because "people want to
go to Kashmir themselves."
"It does not require the army or the intelligence to do
anything. Therefore what I said was that happening in the past
and I did not at all said about the army and ISI. Hizbul
Mujahideen group was created in your part of Kashmir and then
they ran away from there," he said.
To a question on the Kashmir issue, Musharraf said it was
a "tough nut" to crack because it needs courage on both sides.
"I've been saying it needs sincerity on both sides by
leaders and government on both sides. It needs flexibility by
both sides, because never neither of sides can think of giving
everything or taking everything. It has to be give and take,"
he said, adding "boldness" is required to settle the issue.
"They will have obviously to give something to the other
side. Both the sides should give something to the other to
meet in the middle somewhere," Musharraf said.
PTI
First Published: Friday, October 08, 2010, 21:18