No outside threat, it?s internal: Pervez
Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf has said his country did not face any external threat but threats from within in the form of extremism and terrorism and was pursuing a holistic strategy to fight them.
Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf has said his country did not face any external threat but threats from within in the form of extremism and terrorism and was pursuing a holistic strategy to fight them.
He also regretted that incidents of terrorism and extremism anywhere somehow had linkages with Pakistan that disturbed the whole world.
"We have to control them, we must finish extremism and terrorism from our society, we must suppress extremism," he said in an interview to PTV.
Musharraf said after the 9/11 events, there were external centrifugal forces in the shape of Al-Qaeda and now the Taliban activities and his government was pursuing a multi-pronged strategy against them.
Apart from these, he said there were also internal "centrifugal forces" such as provincial disharmony and the government was taking steps to bring about inter-provincial harmony in the country.
Replying to questions, he declined to comment on statements emanating from New Delhi or join issue with what was being raised by Indian media and said his aim was to "galvanise" the peace process between the two countries.
Observing that he had written "nothing but the truth" on Kargil conflict in his book In the Line of Fire, Musharraf said his memoirs were being translated into Hindi.
He said it had never occurred to him that the book would turn out to be "a best-seller" through which he has tried to project Pakistan's point of view on various issues.
"I have not used my uniform for suppression, dictatorial or autocratic rule," he maintained, according to state-owned APP news agency.
On the very first day of his coup in October 1999, he said he had decided not to impose martial law in the country.
"I decided on the very first day that I will be the Chief Executive and not the Chief Martial Law Administrator so that civil society remains functional and we do not suppress them," he said.
Asked if he had been able to set up a system to promote democracy, he referred to what he claimed were various steps that led to the strengthening of political institutions in the country.
"We have never touched the judiciary," he said, adding that that as for his part, he has always tried his best to end the politicisation so that judges of the Supreme Court and the High Courts are appointed on merit.
"So, through my uniform, I have reinforced judiciary, executive and legislature. I have consolidated all the pillars of state through my uniform. I used my uniform for institutional consolidation," Musharraf claimed.
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