Posted on 12/02/2008 11:36:46 PM PST by MyTwoCopperCoins
WASHINGTON: In an interview clearly aimed at soothing India’s anger and presenting his bonafides as a peace-maker ranged against domestic rogue elements, Pakistan’s President Asif Ali Zardari has renewed his pledge of no-first use of nuclear weapons. He has also blamed the Mumbai carnage on non-state actors, while implicating his own intelligence agency in past acts of terrorism.
Zardari appeared on CNN’s Larry King Live on Tuesday night for an interview meant ostensibly to reassure India and the world that he and his civilian government was not part or privy to the terror attack on Mumbai, and they wanted peace with India. He insisted the terror attack was the work of "stateless actors who are holding hostage the whole world."
"So we should all rise above it. I expect the Indian democracy which is senior, which is an older democracy, mature democracy, I expect them to rise above this pain and the loss that they have had and come together with us to fight terrorism in the region," Zardari said.
But the Pakistani president fudged his way through several pointed questions. Despite the growing body of evidence that the Mumbai carnage was planned in Pakistan by the ISI-backed Lashkar-e-Taiba and details provided by the lone captured terrorist about his family, hometown etc in Pakistan, Zardari doubted if he is a Pakistani.
"We have not been giving any tangible proof to say that he is definitely a Pakistani. I very much doubt, Larry, that he's a Pakistani," he said. His statement echoed his predecessor Pervez Musharraf’s denials of Pakistani participation during the Kargil infiltration in 1999 which resulted in Pakistan not accepting the bodies of its own soldiers killed in the conflict.
But Zardari’s denial seemed pro-forma (the interview appeared to have been taped before Indian and U.S officials confirmed the Pakistani plot based on the confession of the captured terrorist and electronic evidence). In fact, he roundly implicated Pakistan’s intelligence agency ISI for past misdemeanors.
Asked what his government was doing about the Pakistani intelligence apparatus support for militant movements in the past, Zardari responded: "In the past, lots of mistakes have been made, I cannot deny that. But the present government does not support any such action and the -- I can assure the world from my side, from my Army’s side, from my parliament’s side and the people of Pakistan that we are not helping any such activity."
Zardari also avoided answering a question about whether he had respect for and confidence in his intelligence agency, indicating, or intending to indicate, a schism between him and the ISI, and possibly the Pakistani military, which controls the intelligence agency.
Asked specifically about the LeT, Zardari said it a banned organization all around the world and "if indeed they are involved (in the Mumbai carnage), we would not know. Again, they are people who operate outside the system."
Despite reports in the Pakistani media about state patronage to LeT leaders (the government recently helped its leader Hafiz Mohammed Saeed to a bulletproof LandRover SUV), Zardari insisted "they operate like -- al Qaida, for instance, is not state-oriented."
Zardari also waffled his way past a question about India’s demand for handing over 20 terrorists living in Pakistan, saying he was "definitely going to look into all the possibility of any proof that is given to us."
"At the moment these are just names of individuals. No proof, no investigation, nothing has been brought to forward," he said. Some of the names in the Indian list, notably Dawood Ibrahim, are Indian nationals convicted in Indian courts. Ibrahim lives in the same neighborhood in Karachi (Clifton) where Zardari has a home, according to past reports in the Pakistani media.
Asked if he would turn over the fugitives (including Indian nationals) if India provided the proof, Zardari fudged again just like his predecessor, saying, "If we had the proof, we would try them in our courts, we would try them in our land and we would sentence them." Accounts in the Pakistani media reveal many of the fugitives and outlaws live under ISI protection and patronage.
This seems very telling. Bookmarked!
bttt
>>>>>Despite the growing body of evidence that the Mumbai carnage was planned in Pakistan<<<<<<
I hate CNN. A disgusting propaganda outlet.
The evidence is not “growing”, it was plain to see from the get-go and then from the moment the captured Pakistani jihadi started spilling the beans.
Zardari needs to be read the riot act by the US, India and Afghanistan. The terrorists are out to destroy you and your government. You have the choice, join us to destroy the terrorists or gone done and take Pakistan with you. Choose wisely Grasshopper.
One of the most annoying things about Muslim argumentation is their habit of saying "There is no proof", "Where is the proof", regardless of the amount of evidence.
Because The One does not think that way?
CNN is desperate to keep their international offices operating, so they are always on guard to say the p.c. thing. Always.
NDTV is a commie outlet. It loves muzzies and always wants to make up with them. I would rather that you switch to TimesNow which is significantly better.
The problem is the US needs access to Aghanistan through Pakistan - it it weren’t for that, I’d say we should let India nuke the Pakis into the stone age.
“We have not been giving any tangible proof to say that he is definitely a Pakistani”
We have not been giving any tangible proof to say that he Obama is definitely an American!
'Stateless Actors' is the mask the Muslim states expect to use to avoid the consequences of the 'Bush Doctrine'.
Note that the Messiah has not made any move to rescind that doctrine, nor even mentioned it.
Eeevreybody's trying to ignore the 900 lb. gorilla in the room. But it's still there, and the Muslim world is perfectly aware of it.
Thank you for your summary of Pakistani affairs. I found it quite informaative. I also stand by what I originally said, for reasons you have now described.
You don’t know the horror that is Larry King; He should be at Gitmo.
http://www.theonion.com/content/video/nasa_simulator_prepares
Sorry all, had to do it.
I didn’t realise that Pakistan was not a state. Now I am confused. Maybe the UN could debate it and write a strongly worded letter to clarify the issue.
If they were from Jammu and Kashmir, they wouldn’t need to take the trouble of coming by sea.And make sat.phone calls to Pakistan.
After some heavy military action, of course.
CNN is the propaganda arm of commies and muslims.
And how does such a pledge get enforced? I'm sure if his country was about to lose a war to India...they'd justify using Nukes.
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