Washington: Pakistan`s former military ruler
Gen Pervez Musharraf has said that the current bilateral
relationship between Islamabad and Washington is at its lowest
ebb, lower than those post 9/11 attacks on the US.
"We`re at a very poor level. I don`t think they were at
this level even before 9/11, when I took over," Musharraf told
the CNN in an interview when asked about the relationship
between Pakistan and the US.
"I don`t think -- I had a reasonable amount of respect
around if the world even before 9/11. But not they certainly
are at their lowest ebb. And it is extremely disturbing to
anyone who understands geopolitics," he said.
In recent months, relations between Pakistan and the US -
key allies in the decade-old war on terror - teetered from one
crisis to the next, including strains caused by the covert
American raid that killed Osama bin Laden on Pakistani soil
and deadly NATO attack that killed 24 Pakistani soldiers.
"It is very disturbing, and I only wish that Pakistan and
the United States mend fences and we move forward on a course
which is in the interest of the region, in the interest of
Pakistan and Afghanistan, and the United States," he said.
The former Pakistani president said that there is no
danger to the safety and security of the country`s nuclear
weapons, unless it is ruled by religious extremists, which is
unlikely going to be the case.
"If the country goes down and it gets into the hands of
religious extremists as a country from the government, then
only it is possible that all the arsenal then belongs to
them... But I don`t see that as a possible," Musharraf said.
"I don`t think any religious party today is capable of
winning the elections, so the other way is that they take them
through force, use force. I don`t think that`s a possibility,
again, with the military guarding it, with the strategic force
command of 20,000 people manning and guarding all these
installations and them being in very secure places and very
dispersed. I don`t think it is a possibility," he said.
PTI
