Date:29/09/2006 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2006/09/29/stories/2006092904871700.htm

International

Musharraf slams BBC over ISI report

Hasan Suroor

Secret service cannot be dismantled, says Pakistani President

LONDON: Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf arrived here on Thursday fuming with rage over a BBC report that a research paper, written by a British intelligence official for the Ministry of Defence, had accused the Pakistani intelligence service, ISI, of "indirectly supporting terrorism and extremism.''

An angry Gen. Musharraf dismissed the allegation as "200 per cent'' wrong and said he would raise the issue with British Prime Minister Tony Blair during his meeting with him.

Told by the BBC that the paper also called for the ISI to be "dismantled,'' he nearly lost his temper retorting that he, too, could call for M16 — the British intelligence service — to be dismantled.

"I totally, 200 per cent reject it. I reject it from anybody — MoD or anyone who tells me to dismantle ISI... .ISI is a disciplined force, breaking the back of Al-Qaeda. Getting 680 persons would not have been possible if our ISI was not doing an excellent job," Gen. Musharraf told the BBC's News night programme which broke the story. The British Government was quick to distance itself from the controversial document saying it did not represent the views either of the Ministry of Defence or the Government.

In a statement, MoD said its author was "furious'' that his notes had been "wilfully misrepresented in this manner''.

"Indeed, he suspects that they have been released to the BBC precisely in the hope that they would cause damage to our relations with Pakistan.

"Pakistan is a key ally in our efforts to combat international terrorism and her security forces have made considerable sacrifices in tackling Al-Qaeda and the Taliban.

"We are working closely with Pakistan to tackle the root causes of terrorism and extremism,'' it said.

Extremism

According to the BBC, the paper blamed the ISI for backing extremism "whether in London on 7/7 or in Afghanistan or Iraq.

The paper also accuses the Pakistan Army of indirectly supporting the Taliban by backing Pakistan's religious parties,'' it said adding that it had chosen not to name its author for "security reasons.''