Pakistanis won’t like Obama’s India endorsement: Musharraf

WASHINGTON - Former Pakistan president Pervez Musharraf says Pakistanis are not going to like US President Barack Obama’s endorsement of India’s bid for a permanent seat on the UN Security Council or his reference to terrorist threat from Pakistan.

“Well, frankly, I didn’t expect it. And may I say very frankly, people in Pakistan won’t be too happy,” he said in response to a question about Obama’s endorsement at an event at the Council on Foreign Relations, a US think tank, in New York this week.

Obama’s call about addressing the terrorist threat from Pakistan too “Well, frankly, again, I don’t think it’s going to be taken well in Pakistan,” he said acknowledging, “And yes, terrorism is an issue, but its complexity needs to be understood and realised.

“Pakistan should not be seen or projected as a perpetrator in a country which does try to project Pakistan as a perpetrator of terrorism and extremism, while in Pakistan people think that we are the victims, and we are the victims of situation, we are the victims of things that have happened over the last 30 years since 1979.”

“Now there is a situation which needs to be tackled. Yes indeed the centre of gravity of terrorism and extremism is

Afghanistan and the tribal agencies of Pakistan,” Musharraf said. “There’s no doubt in that.”

“But to fight it, if you are to put Pakistan into a corner and then try to address terrorism and extremism, I don’t think that is very wise.”

Asking the US to “how understanding of Pakistan’s interests and Pakistan’s sensitivities,” Musharraf said: “If we are to be your partner and a leading partner in the war against terrorism and extremism, well, we ought to be given a bit more importance.”

“And then as far as India is concerned, India is trying to create - I mean, if I’m allowed to be very, very frank, India’s role in Afghanistan is to create an anti-Pakistan Afghanistan. That is very clear to me,” he said.

“Their consulates in Kandahar and Jalalabad our actually involved in creating trouble in Pakistan.”

(Arun Kumar can be contacted at arun.kumar@ians.in)