Once again US President George W. Bush declared President Musharraf as a close ally in war on terror, but most of the tribesmen ask the question, who is breeding terrorism in tribal areas? Being a close ally of US president should not be a certificate for Musharraf to remain in power. He must show results. President Musharraf must show seriousness in the war on terror as there are still some members of his team, who are supporting terrorism in the tribal areas. He must have honest men on his team this time, as the world cannot afford another suicide attack.
According to a report: President George W Bush on Thursday called President Pervez Musharraf an ally of the United States in fighting terrorism and said he should work with the winner of elections scheduled next month.
“I think that whoever wins the election is somebody with whom President Musharraf should work, and of course we will be a strong ally of Pakistan,” Bush said in a Reuters interview at the White House. “I’ve always been a supporter of President Musharraf,” he said, adding this was because the Pakistani leader has been strong in fighting terrorism and held to his pledge to step down from his military post and hold elections. “He’s an ally,” Bush said.
About former premier Benazir Bhutto’s assassination, Bush said the attack had “all the hallmarks” of how Al Qaeda operates, but withheld judgment until the facts were determined.
Musharraf also addressed a press conference in Islamabad. President Pervez Musharraf said on Thursday he was “not fully satisfied” with the probe into the assassination of former premier Benazir Bhutto.
In a news conference, he referred for the first time to reports that the scene of the murder had been hosed down quickly afterwards.
“I am not fully satisfied, I will accept that I am with you about the cleaning of the area,” Musharraf said. Musharraf acknowledged reports that the crime scene had been quickly hosed down after her murder, possibly destroying evidence.
No cover-up: President Musharraf, said he did not believe intelligence agencies had ordered any cover-up in the probe of Benazir’s death.
He said, “I am sure that they did not do it with an intention of hiding secrets or that the intelligence agencies instructed them to hide secrets.” “If you are meaning that evidence was hidden by design, no,” the president said, “It was inefficiency.”
He told reporters the cleaning of the site was “unnecessary,” adding, “It should not have been done.” Musharraf denied there had been a security lapse and implied that Benazir, who was greeting supporters through the sunroof of her armored vehicle at the time of the attack, was partly responsible. Asked if he had “blood on his hands,” Musharraf said the question was “below my dignity” but that he wanted to give a public answer in any case.
“I am not a feudal and I am not a tribal. I have been brought up in a very educated and civilised family with values that believe in character,” the president said. Musharraf said he reached out to British investigators for assistance to dispel accusations that Pakistan’s military or intelligence services were involved in the attack. “We don’t mind going to any extent, as nobody is involved from the government or agency side,” he said.
Musharraf said there was no chance of extremists coming to power in Pakistan or of the country’s nuclear assets falling into terrorists’ hands. The president said that as part of the measures to ensure fairness in polls, the returning officers would announce the results of their respective constituencies.
The End
