Former President Pervez Musharraf on Monday expressed the fear that an international conspiracy was being hatched against Pakistan adding that some international forces are bent upon damaging Pakistan and have started maligning armed forces and intelligence agencies.
"The allegations being levelled against the Pakistan Army and Inter-Services Intelligence loudly speak of the intention of hidden forces, who want to score points by doing this," Musharraf said while talking to media here. He warned international community that maligning Pakistan Army and ISI will lead to defeat in war on terror adding that Pakistan Army and ISI remain on the forefront in international war on terror. "The attacks on Army, Air Force, ISI and even on me are ample proof of sincerity in eliminating the terrorism," he added.
He said that intelligence agencies all over the world are working under their national agenda, and the ISI is no exception. "ISI is also working under the national agenda so no one should have any objection on its working," he added. He criticised the Swat peace deal saying that the deal is ridiculous. "It is really ridiculous to sign a deal with those who killed hundreds of army personnel in Swat," he added.
He said that the military action is no solution to any dispute, but it is one of the three ways to resolve any dispute and we used military force and activated political forces and economic activities, he said.
He informed media that during his eight years regime, more than Rs 9 billion were spent on enhancing the socio-economic activities in tribal areas. But, he hit out at the international community saying: "We were promised an aid of $150 million per annum for establishing Reconstruction Opportunity Zones (ROZs) in tribal areas but nothing positive was seen in this connection."
"We were not supported by international community in our efforts to defeat terrorists and extremists in tribal areas," Musharraf said, adding that there was no secret deal, but it was decided to bring these people in mainstream by involving them in economic and political activities.
He dispelled the impression of any double deal with Taliban and called these allegations as distortion and fabrication of the facts. "I was not alone in whatever I did in my eight years, but the international coalition partners shared the same. Why such allegations never surfaced when I was in power," he said.
"Let me say, what we did was rationale and it had reason and I took any action to the best of my ability," Musharraf said. He said that forces who are trying to damage Pakistan must know that Pakistan is not a weak country. "It is a nuclear and missile power and it is a country of 170 million brave and self-esteemed people, who know how to defend the country," he said. Musharraf categorically denied statement that slain PPP Chairperson Benazir Bhutto's security was dependent on her relations with him. "I never talked to Benazir Bhutto regarding her security and never told that her security was dependent on her relations with me. I can never utter such cheap words."
Referring a book that hit the stands recently, Musharraf said: "I don't know what the writer was trying to prove but what he has written is far from the fact and completely distorted. May be he was trying to create sensation."
The book written by New York Times' David E Sanger, titled: "The Inheritance: The World Obama Confronts and the Challenges to American power," levelled serious allegations against Pakistan and its Army claiming that the ISI was absolutely in complete co-ordination with the Taliban.
Musharraf reacted over the book saying that it is all false and fabricated. "You must show some character," Musharraf said. Musharraf asked media to play its role to unearth the international conspiracy being hatched against Pakistan and inform people about the true enemies of Pakistan.