Pervez Musharraf: Admission time

Washington, Nov. 9 (PTI): The ISI has influence over every terrorist group and uses this to its “advantage”, Pervez Musharraf has said in a rare admission that corroborates India’s suspicions of Pakistani hand in attacks.

The former President debunked Pakistan’s oft-repeated position that its ISI had no role in terror activities across the border and claimed that the intelligence agency was effective because of such influence — which he chose to describe by using the word “ingress”.

“Always, in every group, there is an ingress of the ISI. And that is the efficiency, the effectiveness of the ISI. You must have ingress, so that you can influence all organisations. This ingress doesn’t mean they are supporting them. They have some contacts, which can be used for their own advantage,” Musharraf said in an interview to CNN.

The former military ruler was responding to a question on statements by US leaders that the ISI still had contacts with terrorists.

Musharraf, however, stressed the distinction that while the ISI had influence over the groups, it didn’t support them. “They (ISI) will not support (the terrorists). That was not the government policy. That was not the military policy.”

Musharraf then turned on India, claiming he had “documentary evidence” that the Afghan intelligence, government and even the President were under Indian intelligence agencies’ influence.

“The Afghan intelligence (is) entirely under the influence of Indian intelligence. We know that,” Musharraf said when asked whether Afghan Taliban chief Mullah Omar was in Pakistan’s Quetta.

“Whatever I am saying, I am not saying it here (for the first time). I have given documentary evidence of all this to everyone. There is documentary evidence. And we know the involvement of Indian intelligence with their intelligence,” Musharraf, who was speaking from London, said.

India has rubbished such allegations in the past, saying it is not involved in the troubles in Afghanistan.

On foreign troops in Afghanistan, the former President said they were not welcome but now that they were there, they should win the battle against al Qaida and the Taliban.

“Foreign troops are not welcome there (in Afghanistan). But now that they are there, we have to win. And quitting is not an option at all,” he said.

“Anyone who is talking of quitting doesn’t understand the ramifications of quitting. He must sit down and analyse what will happen if he were to quit there without a solution. We have to defeat al Qaida, we have to dominate the Taliban, and we have to introduce a credible, legitimate government in Afghanistan. But we cannot leave before that.”