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Pakistan, India must avoid proxy war in Afghanistan, says Musharraf Ex-president says India provides weapons, training and equipment to Baloch separatists

KARACHI – Former president Pervez Musharraf has said that Pakistan and India must stay away and avoid engaging in proxy war. In an interview with The Wall Street Journal newspaper published on Wednesday, he acknowledged that both Pakistan and India had been engaged in a long-running proxy war on Afghan soil that fed the conflict. Musharraf also said that his country’s role in nurturing Taliban and allied militant groups operating in Afghanistan were a legitimate counterweight against its rival India there. “There are enemies of Pakistan that have to be countered,” the former president said. “Certainly if there’s an enemy of mine, I will use somebody to counter him.” He suggested that the Afghan government must share power with the Taliban and block Indian influence if it wants peace in the country. “(Afghan President) Ashraf Ghani is a balanced man,” Musharraf said. “I think he’s a great hope.” The former president pointed out that India had provided weapons, training and equipment to Baloch separatists inside Afghanistan. He said that US and its allies had consistently failed to consider Pakistan’s concerns, forcing Islamabad to rely on other groups inside Afghanistan to prop up its interests. The world must realise that we may not like the face of Mullah Omar but that is how life is, that is what Afghanistan is,” Musharraf said. His remarks come as the Afghan government plays up hopes that the officials will be able to negotiate with the Taliban leadership in the coming weeks.
Courtesy www.dailytimes.com.pk

 

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