DUBAI – Former president Gen (retd) Pervez Musharraf said that the UnitedStates treats Pakistan well when it suits them but “ditches us” when theyno longer require Islamabad.In an interview with Voice of America, Musharraf said that Pak-US relationshave suffered quite a blow and are currently at “the lowest ebb.”
The former president said that there is an absolute requirement to sit withthe US and resolve whatever tiff the countries are facing. “This connectsto Afghanistan. There are allegations against Pakistan, and both thecountries have their grievances.”
Answering a question as to why there are strenuous relations between thetwo countries, Musharraf said, “US has supported India very openly from theCold War era. And now again, the US is aligning itself with India againstPakistan, this affects us directly. We would like the United Nations toexamine India’s role in Afghanistan. A one-sided approach to the problem isnegative.”
The former army chief said that the people of Pakistan don’t understand whyUS ‘ditches’ us and then comes back to us. “The people also know this thatUS comes to us when they need us, and they ‘ditch’ us when they don’t – itshould not be this way.”
Musharraf believes that Pakistan’s always been under influence – in a‘cap’. He added that Pakistan was in the West’s cap in the Cold War, themost loyal allies of the US, but now that relations are tense, Pakistan haslooked at China for support and friendship. “However that should not be atthe cost of losing bilateral relations with the US,” he added.“China looks out for Pakistan,” he further added.
Musharraf then reminisced of the “roller coaster ride” of relations – Afterthe 1965 war with India, we were put under sanctions because we weren’tsupposed to use arms against the neighbouring country. The US alsorefrained from providing 40 F16 aircraft for which the country had alreadypaid – instead, Pakistan was asked for more money to release them.
Speaking on the difficult Pakistan-India ties, the former president saidthere exists an inherent bias towards India’s treatment as both possessnuclear arms, but no questions are raised on India. “Nobody asks India tocontrol their assets. Pakistan became a nuclear state because India posedan undeniable existential threat,” he added.
“The US should’ve stopped them, we’ve been loyal to them throughout,” helamented.Speaking in hindsight, Musharraf said that when he was in power, India andPakistan were on the path of reconciliation, but that is not the caseanymore. “At the time, I spoke to both the prime ministers; Atal BihariVajpayee and Manmohan Singh, they were both from different politicalparties but we wanted to move forward from the disputes,” he recalls.
Musharraf said that a four-point initiation of peace was strategised by theformer president and was put in implementation by the leadership of bothcountries. The four points of contention included Siachen and Kashmir aswell. “We were working on my strategy because both sides wanted to havepeace. This is not the case anymore. They want to undo us.”
Incumbent Prime Minister Narendar Modi wants to enforce supremacy in Indiaand isn’t an advocate of peace talks, he added.There exists a bias between treatment of India and Pakistan.
“No one questions India’s possession of nuclear threats. US should’vestopped them, we’ve been loyal allies.”Speaking on the matter of Dr Shakil Afridi, a local physician, who aidedthe US Central Intelligence Agency to run a fake hepatitis campaign toconfirm Osama bin Laden’s presence in Abbotabad, Musharraf said that if hewas in power, he would have struck a smart deal for Afridi’s release.
“You can take decisions of national interest without disturbing nationalpolicy and security. If I was president, I would have negotiated a deal andhanded him over,” he added. “I don’t think the problem is unsolvable, ifthere would’ve been a suitable negotiation, I would’ve taken it.”