Taliban, not India, greatest threat to Pakistan: Zardari

London, Jun 25 (PTI) Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari
has said that terrorism, not India, is the greatest "threat"
to his country, a significant shift in Islamabad's view of its
neighbour that provoked controversy back home.

During a meeting with EU officials in Brussels Wednesday
Zardari said: "I do not consider India a military threat,
India is a reality, Pakistan is a reality, but Taliban are a
threat, an international threat to our way of life and at the
moment, I'm focused on the Taliban".

"It's something that has been going on for a long time
and of course went unchecked under the dictatorial rule of the
last president," he had said.

The statement marks a significant shift in Islamabad's
view of its traditional rival, the Daily Telegraph said.

The comments provoked an immediate controversy, with
members of the National Assembly raising the issue and several
leading Pakistani newspapers criticising him, the paper said.

According to the report, his comments represent a
victory for British and American diplomats, who have been
trying to persuade Zardari and his army chiefs to concentrate
their efforts on confronting the Taliban rather than India.

Diplomatic work intensified after the Mumbai terror
attack that heightened tensions between India and Pakistan,
with senior Pakistani army officers saying they would switch
their forces away from fighting Islamist militants to
reinforce defences along their border with India, it said.

A senior Pakistani officer even hailed an offer of
support from the Taliban leader Baitullah Mehsud, describing
him as a patriot. Zardari's government is now focussed on
Mehsud's forces and the army is preparing for a major ground
offensive in his stronghold.

A full-scale assault on their bases in north and south
Waziristan, from where militants launch attacks on NATO forces
in Afghanistan is imminent, the report said.

However, the paper said, Zardari's new approach to India
was unlikely to be welcomed too warmly in New Delhi, where the
Manmohan Singh government is focused primarily on bringing the
perpetrators and masterminds of the Mumbai attacks to justice.

The report quoted a senior figure in Zardari's Pakistan
People's Party saying last night that people should "be very
concerned" about Zardari's statement, which would cause alarm
within the Pakistani army.

It quoted Gen Hamid Gul, former ISI Director General
during President Zia ul Haq's regime as saying the president's
comments were "technically true", but they would be ridiculed
by the army's high command.
According to him "the army is in unison. India is our
E nemy and will remain our enemy." PTI HSR
PMR
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