News
Musharraf dragged Pakistan into war theatre to prolong rule: NisarBy Asim Qadeer Rana
ISLAMABAD: It was General Pervez Musharraf’s intention to prolong his illegitimate rule which made him drag the country into the so-called war against terrorism that ultimately turned out to be a worst challenge for the nation, Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan said on Thursday.
Expressing hopefulness about progress in talks with Taliban, Nisar said that a meeting would be held soon to review the dialogue process.
Speaking at the inauguration of a think tank, he said that Pakistan would become peaceful because of the efforts made by the government. The minister said that former rulers imposed a war on Pakistan for 12 years to serve foreign interests. “This war continued for over a decade and nobody held talks to resolve the conflict. The PML-N (Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz) government started talks and just in a few months headway has been made in this regard,” Nisar added.
“Now those people, who did not take any step to initiate talks, are raising objections and resorting to criticism.”
The minister said that no Pakistani or tribesman was involved in the incident of 9/11 but Pakistan bore the brunt of this tragic incident.
“Islam is not a religion of violence but it is all about peace and forgiveness and Allah dislikes chaos. Former military ruler Pervez Musharraf drove the country into war to remain in power, he stated.
Nisar said the government has taken its position against the removal of the name of General Musharraf from the Exit Control List (ECL).
INP adds: Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan has said that the dialogue process with the Taliban has made development and that it would make further progress.
Addressing a function at the Centre for Research Policy on Thursday, the minister said the country has been facing a bloody war for the last 12 years but that nobody paid attention to restore peace through dialogue. He said the PML-N government initiated this process and it would make Pakistan an abode of peace.
“Why those who are criticising the government did not hold talks during their tenure as the situation in FATA (Federally Administered Tribal Areas) was peaceful in 2002,” he said. The interior minister said that General Musharraf dragged the country into war against terrorism in order to prolong his rule.
Nisar said that the next phase of talks with the Taliban would be discussed during his meetings with members of the government committee. The minister said that a probe would be launched into the occurrence of an explosion on the route of General Musharraf on Thursday.
Courtesy www.dailytimes.com.pk