Musharraf does not regret Kargil war: Exclusive Interview
Former Pakistan President General Pervez Musharraf on Saturday remained adamant about not regretting the Kargil war, and even suggesting that he did not know if Pakistan spy agency ISI was operating terror camps against India.
November 18, 2012 / 14:49 IST
Former Pakistan President General Pervez Musharraf on Saturday remained adamant about not regretting the Kargil war, and even suggesting that he did not know if Pakistan spy agency ISI was operating terror camps against India. However, he said both India and Pakistan need to change their stance on Kashmir and Siachen.
Speaking to CNN-IBN's Suhasini Haider, he said he does not have any regret for the Kargil war. "You divided half of our country. We are not talking about that. Why are we not talking about Siachen? I am not going to comprise on the honour and dignity of Pakistan. I have no regrets for Kargil," he said.The Kargil war, which began in May 1999, lasted for more than two months before Pakistan soldiers, who had crossed over the LoC, were forced to withdraw after the Indian Army captured several mountain tops overlooking the Srinagar-Leh highway. Even though Pakistani authorities and army have been claiming that the mountain tops were occupied by terrorists, but evidence with the Indian Army showed that they were Pakistani regular soldiers.Musharraf also provoked a new controversy by suggesting extremism is on the rise among the Indian Muslim youth. On the trust deficit between both the countries, he said, "The worst of all, the intelligence organisations. They got into a confrontational mode. They got into a confrontation and launched a proxy war against each other in each other's countries, and in the region and may be globally. So this was the state and in its entire complexity, the result was that there was a total breakdown of trust and confidence and may I say that we became enemies."On the issue of dimilitarisation, he said, "We should open as amany routes as possible. We should increase people to people contact. But this is possible only when we do something about the visa regime and ease the visa regime. And again 'niyat' is required." Discover the latest Business News, Sensex, and Nifty updates. Obtain Personal Finance insights, tax queries, and expert opinions on Moneycontrol or download the Moneycontrol App to stay updated!
