Musharraf says India trying to setup anti-Pak Afghanistan
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Former Pakistan military dictator has charged India of trying to create an "anti-Pakistan Afghanistan," and said that US President Barack Obama's support for New Delhi's UNSC bid will not be viewed "favourably" in Islamabad.
Claiming that New Delhi is using its consulates in places like Jalalabad and Kandahar to foment trouble in his country, Pervez Musharraf hit back at criticism of Pakistan's handling of terror elements in the region, saying any responsibility of failure rests equally with the US and Afghan forces.
"If I'm allowed to be very, very frank, India's role in Afghanistan is to create an anti-Pakistan Afghanistan," Mr Musharraf, who is attempting to script a comeback into Pakistani politics, said.
Mr Musharraf is in the US to drum up support for his comeback, which he announced earlier in 2010 by launching a new political party — the All Pakistan Muslim League — that would contest elections in 2013.
His accusations against India come as former American President George Bush in his memoirs labelled him as an "unreliable and reluctant" partner in the war against terror.
Mr Bush also accused Mr Musharraf of stonewalling attempts by him to despatch US special forces into Pakistan to smash the Taliban and Al Qaeda safe havens in the country's tribal belt.
Speaking at a public function here, Mr Musharraf to buttress his charges against India said, "This is very clear to me. There are consulates in Kandahar and Jalalabad... Actually involved in creating trouble in Pakistan. They have no other role".
"Why wouldn't the consulates be somewhere in the north facing Uzbekistan and Tajikistan?" he asked. Pakistani officials have raised such concerns earlier but India has rubbished these allegations, maintaining that its presence in Afghanistan was for developmental reasons.
India has committed $1.3 billion in assistance to the reconstruction of the war-torn country. It is working on a range of developmental projects which cover areas like infrastructure, power, healthcare, education and social sector.
The former military leader reacted indignantly to many pointed questions on why Pakistan's territory was being used as a safe haven for radical extremists.
He also shot back at questions over how extremists like Osama bin Laden had crossed over to Pakistan through the porous borders to escape the coalition forces.
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