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India must accept Pakistan as an equal: Musharraf

IRNA - Islamic Republic News Agency

Islamabad, Oct 25, IRNA
Pakistan-India
President Gen Pervez Musharraf has said that India must accept Pakistan as an equal to ensure peace in the region.

Musharraf, as quoted by the Daily Times, said: "I respect the Indian prime minister, but it is regrettable that India wants to keep its domination in the region and wants Pakistan to be a weaker force."

"India should come out of its phobia of being a greater nation and should talk to us at an equal level," President Musharraf said in an interview with a private TV channel on Monday.

He added that the government would not allow anyone to interfere in Pakistan's internal matters and that India should set its own house in order before telling others what to do.

There are no separatist movements in Pakistan while in India there are 21 separatist movements operating, he said, adding that therefore India should not consider Pakistan a weaker nation.

The president said talks with India on Kashmir were on the right path and progress was being made.

President Musharraf said political parties were not barred from taking part in the next elections.

He said that democracy lies within the party and not with individuals, adding that "unfortunately our political parties have no democracy."

He said some parties need to change their leadership.

The president said that when he assumed power as a military ruler in October 1999, he did not become a martial law administrator but worked to strengthen the civil administration.

"We promoted the civil bureaucracy and the people of Pakistan should have faith in us," he said.

He said he and his government had tried to empower women by giving them 33 percent representation in the assembly so that their voices could be heard.

However, women also need to fight for their own rights and enhance their capabilities in all sectors, he added.

Asked about the Middle East conflict, Gen Musharraf said: "We regret what happened in Lebanon and we need to review our policies, especially with respect to Israel."

"There was a time when we did not accept Israel at all but now we believe in two states: Israel and Palestine. However, our policy is clear that the Palestinian issue needs to be settled first if we are to achieve peace in the Middle East."

The president stressed that Pakistan's nuclear program should not be considered an Islamic bomb or a Sunni or Shia bomb, but a Pakistani bomb solely meant for the country's defence.

He said Pakistan was under no pressure on account of the admission of nuclear scientist Dr Abdul Qadeer Khan.

He said if anyone had information on Dr Khan's proliferation activities, they should contact Pakistani authorities who will investigate.

But we will not allow anyone to investigate in their own capacity, he added.

President Musharraf said he believed Taliban chief Mullah Omar and Al-Qaeda leader Osama Bin Laden were hiding in the mountains of Afghanistan and it was not easy to find them because of the difficult terrain, lack of road access and strong local support for the Taliban there.

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