DUBAI – The US treats Pakistan according to its needs and “ditches” when itdoes not require Islamabad, former military ruler Pervez Musharraf has saidas he accused America of aligning with India against his country.
The former president and chief of All Pakistan Muslim League (APML) in aninterview with Voice of America said that Pak-US relations have sufferedquite a blow and are currently at “the lowest ebb”.
The 74-year-old retired general has been living in Dubai since last yearwhen he was allowed to leave Pakistan for medical treatment. He said thatthere is an absolute requirement to sit with the US and resolve whatevertiff the countries are facing. “This connects to Afghanistan. There areallegations against Pakistan, and both the countries have theirgrievances,” he said.
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 UN to examine India’srole in Afghanistan. A one-sided approach to the problem is negative.”
The former army chief said that the people of Pakistan do not understand“why the US ditches us and then comes back to us”. “The people also knowthis that US comes to us when they need us, and they ditch us when theydon’t – it should not be this way,” he said.
The relations between Washington and Islamabad have been strained since USPresident Donald Trump accused Pakistan of “lies and deceit” and criticisedIslamabad for providing safe havens to terror groups.