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No permanent assurance on ending cross-border terrorism: Musharraf

Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf has denied giving an 'assurance' to US of permanently ending cross-border terrorism and said it was linked to India's response to its demand for 'discussion on Kashmir'.

"I've told President Bush nothing is happening across the Line of Control. This is the assurance I've given. I'm not going to give you an assurance that for years nothing will happen. We have to have response from India, a discussion about Kashmir," Musharraf said in an interview in the latest issue of Newsweek.

Even during his recent discussions with the US Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage, he said they did not talk about dismantling of terrorist training camps in the Pakistan occupied Kashmir.

"Kashmir is witnessing a freedom struggle. What I said was that there would is no movement across the Line of Control," he said.

Musharraf also blamed Indian intelligence agency Research and Analysis Wing for recent bomb blasts in Pakistan and said it was engineered as 'India does not want Islamabad to get close to US'.

Accusing India of buying billions of dollars worth of weapons from Russia and the west and said, "If they tilt the conventional balance, we shall have to restore it."

Asked whether he would like the United States to bring about some kind of settlement between India and Pakistan, he replied, "America is the only country, which can persuade India to initiate a dialogue and move towards a solution of Kashmir. Bilateralism has not worked."

Asked about reports that Indian army wanted to conduct strikes against terrorist training camps in Pakistan occupied Kashmir, he said, "We would have taught them a lesson. This is not a small country. This is not Afghanistan."

Replying to a question, he said India and Pakistan had come very close to having a war. "As far as Pakistan is concerned, we said we will not initiate war but if attacked, will defend offensively."

Asked if this is a turning point in the relations between the two countries, or just a pause between crises, he replied this is certainly a turning point for the good.

"But India needs to move forward on the initiation of dialogue on Kashmir. So we are looking for a response from India," he said.

To a question whether some kind of autonomy for Kashmir or accepting Line of Control as border would a solution to Kashmir, Musharraf replied, "That's just not possible. If Line of Control is to be border, what have we fought these two wars for?"

Asked whom he held responsible for recent bomb blasts in the country, he said Al Qaeda is one possibility. But the other is Indian intelligence agency RAW. "RAW does a lot of anti-Pakistan activity. So many bomb blasts are taking place. Who is brewing this? Obviously, they are RAW-inspired. They (Indians) do not like us getting close to the US. They had thought after September 11, Pakistan would declared a terrorist state."

He described Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee's statement that Pakistan knew the whereabouts of Osama bin Laden and Al Qaeda fighters are as an attempt to 'malign' his country.

Denying inaction against Pakistani fundamentalists, Musharraf told the magazine: "About 660 extremists are still behind the bars. Their parties are banned. Their leaders are behind the bars."

Asked whether the extremists groups are under control, he replied that he could not say that the law and order situation is excellent. "They have their sympathisers."

On whether he plans to return the country to a more democratic system, Musharraf said elections would be held in October and asserted that the country has the 'most democratic system now'.

"All the democratically elected governments here have been autocratic. I am a dictator because I am not elected. But I think my functioning is most democratic," he said.

Terrorism Strikes in Jammu and Kashmir: The complete coverage

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