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Pakistan rejects terrorism in all its forms, does not want war: Musharraf

Asserting that Pakistan does not want a war with India, President Pervez Musharraf on Tuesday said his country rejected terrorism in all its forms and manifestations and appealed to New Delhi to return to the path of dialogue.

"Instead of accusations, threats and dangerous escalation, India should return to the path of dialogue and negotiations, which is the only sane option, especially in the dangerous environment of South Asia," Musharraf told a 16-nation security conference in Almaty.

Sitting across the table with Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Jiang Zemin, he said: "Pakistan will not allow its territory to be used by terrorists."

Musharraf said the people of South Asia continued to pay a heavy price for the refusal by India to resolve the Kashmir dispute in accordance with the relevant UN resolutions and the wishes of the Kashmiri people.

"I travelled to Agra nearly a year ago in the hope of setting into motion a dialogue process to address Kashmir and all other outstanding issues with India. Regrettably, the summit remained inconclusive," he said.

"We must ask ourselves whether the present situation has been brought about because of a sudden eruption of violence and terrorism by misguided individuals and desperate groups that threaten to destabilise the international community or is there a deeper malaise and terrorism is a symptom of this malaise," the military ruler said on the present escalation of tension on the Indo-Pak border.

Linking the Kashmir issue to India's charge against his country on cross-border terrorism, Musharraf said: "We cannot allow individual or group terrorism on any pretext. Similarly, we cannot condone for any reason the rapacious policies of certain states that forcibly occupy territories and deny freedom to people for decades on end."

Without referring to India by name, Musharraf said his country will not allow suppression of freedom of people by forcible occupation of land by a country disregarding the UN Charter.

"Global peace has remained hostage to the expansionist ambitions of such states and their ruthless campaigns to suppress, through brutal use of force, the legitimate struggles of peoples to gain their internationally recognised fundamental right to freedom and self-determination," he said.

Taking a view contrary to the world community that terrorists could not be branded as freedom fighters, the Pakistani president said denial of freedom and resulting desperation and humiliation were the breeding grounds for extremism.

"To eradicate terrorism, we must address the root cause by eliminating injustice and honouring the commitments consecrated in the UN Charter of Principles," he said.

Pakistan expressed satisfaction that the Almaty Act to be adopted by the Conference on Interaction and Confidence Building Measures in Asia (CICA) had confirmed the core principles of the UN Charter, including the 'respect for the right of self-determination of peoples under occupation and colonial domination'.

"Terrorism by states, apart from inflicting massive suffering on occupied people, spawns spiral of violence and terrorism," Musharraf said.

In the age of information and technology, it was vital to promote understanding among peoples and cultures through a sustained effort, he said.

"We, therefore, fully endorse the positive elements of the 'Declaration on Eliminating Terrorism and Promoting Dialogue among Civilisations', which are inspired by the idea of greater interaction and cooperation among civilisations," the Pakistan president said.

"We reject the flawed and dangerous postulates of an inexorable clash of civilisations, which can only resurrect medieval prejudices and fears and lead the world on a dark and dangerous path of confrontation and conflict," he said.

PTI

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