World | Pakistan
'Rogue elements may take us to war'
Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari has cautioned India that rogue "non state actors" could push the nuclear armed countries down the war path.
- By Fasihur Rehman Khan, Correspondent
- Published: 00:41 December 2, 2008
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Islamabad: Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari has cautioned India that rogue "non state actors" could push the nuclear armed countries down the war path.
"Even if the militants [blamed for the Mumbai attacks] are linked to Lashkar-e-Taiba, who do you think we are fighting?" he questioned.
"We live in troubled times where non state actors have taken us to war before whether it is the case of those who perpetrated 9/11 attacks on the United States or contributed to the escalation of situation in Iraq," he said in an interview.
"Now, events in Mumbai tell us that there are ongoing efforts to carry out copycat attacks by militants. We must all stand together to fight out this menace."
Zardari stressed that he and Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani had talked to world and political leaders at home to ask them to help steer the country out of the dangers posed by the escalation of tensions with India, in the wake of Mumbai massacre. The Indian government is blaming the attacks on militant elements based inside Pakistan.
Intelligence move
Immense pressure by opposition parties forced the PPP-led Zardari-Gilani government to reverse its decision to send the country's Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) chief to Delhi as demanded by the Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.
Pakistan's main opposition party, PML-N, right wing religious party the Jamaat-e-Islami, the PML-Q, Tehreek-e-Insaaf, and even long-time government ally Maulana Fazlur Rehman, fiercely attacked the government's decision to send the intelligence chief, forcing the PPP government to backtrack and call a special Cabinet meeting to ratify its decision, officials said.
Under immense domestic pressure, Prime Minister Gilani's government decided to consult other country's political leadership for assistance in navigating the tense situation successfully.
After completing a round of telephone calls with heads of all prominent political parties in Pakistan the prime minister called an All Parties Conference (APC) on Tuesday to formulate a consensual response to India's allegations against Pakistan.
Government officials say all political party leaders have accepted the conference invitation.
Foreign powers
President Zardari meanwhile talked to Afghan President Hamid Karzai, British foreign secretary David Milliband and the French President, Nicholas Sarkozy, to inform them of Pakistan's standpoint regarding deterioration of relations with India.
Sarkozy expressed his support to democracy in Pakistan, according to a government statement.
While Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan telephoned Gilani on Sunday night and said Turkey would play its role to bring peace to the region being drawn in to conflict by the Mumbai terror attacks.
The Pakistani premier was hopeful that Turkey's efforts would bring positive results and both India and Pakistan would again pursue the path of dialogue essential for the development of South Asian region.
India and Pakistan have long been at loggerheads over the disputed region of Kashmir.
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