Musharraf responsible for rise of terrorism in Pakistan:Sharif

Lahore, Apr 4 (PTI) Holding former military ruler Gen
Pervez Musharraf responsible for the rise of terrorism and
extremism in Pakistan, PML-N chief Nawaz Sharif has said the
country would have been free from such evils if the democratic
process would not have been derailed by the dictator.

"Musharraf's dictatorship ... has been responsible for
this ... terrorism, extremism and radicalism. Dictatorships
are excellent breeding ground for this kind of activity,"
Sharif, who was overthrown in a bloodless military coup in
1999 by then army chief Gen Musharraf, said.

"If the (democratic) system was not derailed, I am
sure we wouldn't have any such problem like terrorism or these
suicide bombings," the two time former premier told Financial
Times in an interview.

Sharif claimed that Musharraf's nine-year rule has
fuelled the growth of terrorism in Pakistan and stressed the
need to look into the root cause of terrorism instead of
eliminating them by use of force.

"Nobody would ever approve this kind of activity which
is going on. We all condemn terrorism. We have also got to go
into the causes of terrorism," Sharif said.

"I stand for democracy and I stand for the democratic
institutions. I stand for rule of law, my struggle all (the
years), since I was deposed, has been for the rule of law," he
said.

Referring to the peace deal signed between Pakistan
government and pro-Taliban militants in Swat, Sharif said
non-military initiatives are needed in the Islamists'
strongholds.

"We have got to have a multi-pronged approach and pump
maximum resources into the social sector and provide job
opportunities to the people who live there. Basically, those
who are doing all this are jobless people. They have nothing
to do. Therefore, it is very easy for all those people to draw
them in to this kind of an activity," he added.

Sharif dismissed as baseless the reports that
Pakistan's ISI supports militant activities.

"No ISI (officer) will ever be able to get involved in
these kinds of activities," he said. "I don't believe that the
ISI should get involved in helping elements who are creating
problems for our own country and for our friends in the west.
I don't think it is possible."

Sharif, however, commended US President Barack Obama
for being more open-minded than his predecessor George Bush
"who was never interested in restoring democracy".

"Obama has now come up with a new policy with little
changes, very minor changes as compared to the last policy.
But, I think the consultative process is better than during
Bush's time," he added. PTI HMK
SAK
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