By NNN-APP
London : President Pervez Musharraf has rejected the impression in the West that Pakistan was exporting terrorism and said instead it was victim of this menace and confronting it with total dedication and commitment.
Speaking on the topic of “Our vision of providing regional peace and stability” at the prestigious Royal College of Defence Studies at the Seaford House on Monday, he said Pakistan’s predicaments were from the 1979 war in Afghanistan initiated by USA and West to oust Soviet Union from that country.
Saying that the first blow on the Berlin Wall were struck in Afghanistan, the President said it was unfortunate that USA and West deserted Pakistan after achieving their objectives.
He noted that the military success in Afghanistan did not culminate in the political victory and all the ammunition left behind both by the Soviet and the Western forces fell into the hands of the warlords who used it to settle scores among themselves.
“They fought destructive war for 12 years from 1989 to 2001 and that gave rise to Taliban and finally Al-Qaeda which eventually resulted in the attacks on the USA.”
The President said Osama Bin Laden fought on the side of the Western allies and now he is their number one enemy.
Pakistan, he said, operated against Al-Qaeda and arrested hundreds of their operatives from the main cities of the country and as a result there are no such elements now.
The Al-Qaeda has now been reduced to a single digit and driven from Pakistan which is however facing problem from the Taliban, the President said as he allayed the impression of Pakistan not doing enough in the war on terrorism.
Musharraf, who attended the 1990 course at the Royal College of Defence, gave overview of the economic progress initiated in the country during the last seven years and said the government’s policy of privatisation, liberalisation and deregulation has yielded economic benefits.
Musharraf spoke of Pakistan’s fight against Taliban and said military has driven out a cleric Fazaullah from settled area of Swat and the Government writ has been established.
He accused Fazullah of indoctrinating the innocent young people and leading them to become suicide bombers through his nefarious propaganda.
He called on the West to support and encourage Pakistan through economic investments to remove illiteracy and poverty and by providing market access to its produce to help its factories rolling in his country.