The Hindu : Pak. has done enough to curb terrorism: Musharraf

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Monday, Apr 01, 2002

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Pak. has done enough to curb terrorism: Musharraf

`INDIA SHOULD OPEN THE DOOR TO TALKS'

By Malini Parthasarathy

The Pakistan President, Gen. Musharraf, at the interview. — Photo: By special arrangement

ISLAMABAD. The President of Pakistan, Pervez Musharraf, is of the firm view that his actions in recent months including the banning of the two terrorist organisations, the Jaish-e- Mohammed and the Lashkar-e-Taiba, thereby taking steps to curb terrorism directed at India have provided enough reason for India to de-escalate the military standoff on the border and to start talking. Both countries "have had enough... let us start going back. I think we should start talking," he said. The Pakistan President also suggested that there could be an immediate ceasefire on the Line of Control where firing has resumed.

In an exclusive hour-long interview at his Army House residence in Rawalpindi last Thursday evening, the first such interview to an Indian publication since last July, the Pakistan President pointed out that actions taken to "crush extremism" which he had taken in Pakistan's own national interest "very fortunately" happen to "coincide in certain forms with whatever Indian desires are... '' His administration had taken "so much action" in Pakistan's own internal environment to "curb terrorism''. This, he said, "was enough reason, much more than enough reason for any leadership in India to have decided to de-escalate... but unfortunately they are so slow in their response." The inability to take "concrete action fast enough" would mean letting go of "fleeting opportunities". Asked what could be a meeting point between India and Pakistan, given the virtually unbridgeable gap between the hard positions on both sides, Gen. Musharraf said: "Frankly, the meeting point is very clear, we have to start talking and without preconditions... let's stop damaging each other, let's resolve these disputes."

Asked whether he would not take a fresh initiative to break the stalemate, Gen. Musharraf said that Pakistan had said that it was prepared to talk but "we are not getting any positive responses from the Indian side... we have done everything... domestically we have taken actions that could have encouraged positive response from the Indian side... we didn't see it... " He also indicated that since he felt that Pakistan had taken enough steps to prove its sincerity and which offered a basis for India to begin de-escalating the military build-up on the border with Pakistan, he expected the next move to come from India. "In diplomacy, they say that you should always keep the door a little open but here we are being taught a new form of diplomacy... slam the door shut and now ask the other side to open the door... why should I open the door for you? You slammed it shut, open it yourself, I didn't slam it shut for you."

Gen. Musharraf made clear many times in the course of the interview his deep sense of disappointment with what he characterised as a negative official Indian attitude towards him since September 11 which he saw as being fuelled by a calculation that the post-September 11 international context would give India an opportunity to have Pakistan "sorted out" and which was belied subsequently. He said that his own hostile references to India had been in the nature of a reaction to what he saw as a constant attempt to malign him. He particularly singled out the statements of the Union Home Minister, L.K. Advani, and the Union Defence Minister, George Fernandes, as "offensive" and "insulting". As regards the attack on Parliament on December 13, he said "that was most unfortunate... and if anyone thinks that the Government of Pakistan is involved in that, he is talking nonsense... obviously we are not involved and we regret that this took place."

On the list of the 20 wanted terrorists handed over to Pakistan, asked whether even if not immediately legally feasible, a political gesture could be made to India by handing over some of the most visible names such as Dawood Ibrahim and the hijackers of IC 814, Gen. Musharraf pointed out that most of the names on the list had nothing to do with the December 13 attack, except for the JeM's Masood Azhar. "He is behind bars, his party is banned, his accounts are frozen, their offices are locked, what more do you want?" He added that Pakistan had asked India for more evidence on Azhar's involvement as it would be in its own interest to try him in Pakistan. "But no evidence has been given, whatsoever. Zero evidence."

The Pakistan President also expressed his strong reservations over the manner in which the list was given. "Do you think you can humiliate Pakistan, rub our nose on the ground to submission and think we are going to accept?" Characterising the list as "rubbish", he said that it reflected an "offensive attitude" treating another country like "dirt". "Neither are we Afghanistan nor should India think it is the United States... we have our honour and dignity to guard." The list of 20, he said, "came in as a sword hanging on our head... " with the message that Indian troops were on the border and that they were ready "to sort you out". If indeed the issue of terrorism was to be raised, Pakistan also knew that there were terrorist acts being committed in Pakistan by "RAW and Indian intelligence". But mutual recrimination was not the road to take, he said. "A lot of bad has been done by both countries against each other. This is not one-sided... let's not dig into the past, let us look to the future... ''

The Pakistan President also expressed his amusement at what he saw as India's "hypocrisy" in its taking the stance that it did not want mediation or facilitation by a third party in the India-Pakistan relationship. Asserting that the two countries were still at a point very close to war, given the massed capability on both sides of the border, resulting in an "explosive" situation, Gen. Musharraf pointed out that even while India kept asserting it did not want facilitation, the U.S. Secretary of State, Colin Powell, was on the phone almost everyday to the Prime Minister, A.B. Vajpayee, or to the External Affairs Minister, Jaswant Singh. "And almost every day, or every second day, he was talking to me... of course the mediatory role was played by Mr Powell..."

He also asked that if India did not want mediation, why then did Indian officials not pick up the phone and talk directly to Pakistan? "I am willing to talk but they don't talk."

Asked whether the Agra process could be picked up and resumed, the Pakistan President who expressed his appreciation of the warm and positive response he had received from the Indian people during his visit last July, said: "Yes, we would love to go back to the Agra process. Why can't we?" He reiterated that Pakistan had invited both the Prime Minister and External Affairs Minister to Islamabad, invitations which had been accepted, yet now India does "not want to play cricket with us... why should we not play cricket with each other?" He was also critical of the Indian decision to close the airspace between the two countries, maintaining that the decision had adversely affected India's economic interests more than Pakistan's.

Gen. Musharraf who pointedly praised Mr. Vajpayee and Mr. Jaswant Singh as "very realistic and very pragmatic" in implied contrast to Mr. Advani and Mr. Fernandes said that he was hurt and disappointed by the portrayal of his handshake with Mr. Vajpayee at the SAARC summit in Kathmandu as "gimmickry and PR". He said: "Whatever I am thinking in mind and heart, I do... I thought I must shake hands with Mr. Vajpayee, I went and shook hands. I wasn't acting, I wasn't pretending... it was not showmanship."

He wanted this particular interview to contain the message to the Indian people that he was "open to peace in the region" and that he wanted "to resolve all disputes", he was "ready to discuss every issue" provided Kashmir was accepted as the main issue of contention between the two countries. The Pakistan President also said "we sincerely want friendship... in the immediate context, we need to de-escalate in the interests of both countries, in the interests of the armies of both countries." Pakistan wanted to "live in harmony" with India which ought to behave like the "elder brother" and show magnanimity to the smaller country. "I would not expect magnanimity from the smaller country because it has its honour to guard, its dignity to protect. Unfortunately here, the bigger force is expecting the smaller force to come begging and crawling to it. We are not going to crawl," he said.

(For details of the interview read "Let us look to the future, says Musharraf".

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