Musharraf Blasts "Ungrateful" West
The United States and its allies will fail in the so-called "war on terror" without the support of Pakistan and its intelligence service, Pakistan's President Pervez Musharraf said Saturday, September 30.
In an interview with BBC radio, Musharraf was asked for his response to the view that Pakistan was not a good ally in the fight against global extremism because of the links between terrorism and his country.
"You will be brought down to your knees if Pakistan doesn't co-operate with you. That is all that I would like to say. Pakistan is the main ally. If we were not with you, you would not manage anything. Let that be clear," he said.
"And if the ISI (Inter Services Intelligence) is not with you, you will fail. Let that be very clear also. Remember my words: if the ISI is not with you and Pakistan is not with you will lose in Afghanistan."
Musharraf recorded the interview after talks with British Prime Minister Tony Blair in London on Thursday, September 28.
The meeting came following a leaked British defense ministry think-tank report that claimed the ISI was indirectly supporting extremism in Afghanistan, Iraq and Britain by backing the MNA coalition of Pakistani religious parties, reported Agence France-Presse (AFP).
Musharraf, who seized power in a coup in 1999, again strongly denied the claims, which were written by a senior military official linked to Britain's foreign intelligence service, MI6, after a fact-finding mission there in June.
The president accepted Blair's assurances that the document was not a reflection of the British government position.
Agencies
"You will be brought down to your knees if Pakistan doesn't co-operate with you. That is all that I would like to say. Pakistan is the main ally. If we were not with you, you would not manage anything. Let that be clear," he said.
"And if the ISI (Inter Services Intelligence) is not with you, you will fail. Let that be very clear also. Remember my words: if the ISI is not with you and Pakistan is not with you will lose in Afghanistan."
Musharraf recorded the interview after talks with British Prime Minister Tony Blair in London on Thursday, September 28.
The meeting came following a leaked British defense ministry think-tank report that claimed the ISI was indirectly supporting extremism in Afghanistan, Iraq and Britain by backing the MNA coalition of Pakistani religious parties, reported Agence France-Presse (AFP).
Musharraf, who seized power in a coup in 1999, again strongly denied the claims, which were written by a senior military official linked to Britain's foreign intelligence service, MI6, after a fact-finding mission there in June.
The president accepted Blair's assurances that the document was not a reflection of the British government position.
Agencies
