ISI has ingress in every terror group, says Musharraf

Lalit K Jha
Washington, Nov 9 (PTI) Pakistan's Inter-Services
Intelligence (ISI) has influence over every terrorist group
and it uses these contacts for its "own advantage", former
military ruler Pervez Musharraf has said in a rare admission
that corroborates India's suspicions of Pak-hand in terror
acts.
Debunking Pakistan's oft-repeated position that its
Inter-Services Intelligence had no role in terror activities
across the border, Musharraf claimed that its intelligence
agency's effectiveness was through such "ingress".
"Always, in every group, there is an ingress of the
ISI. And that is the efficiency, the effectiveness of the ISI.
You must have ingress, so that you can influence all
organisations.
"And it is this ingress of theirs, which doesn't mean
that they are supporting them, but they have ingress. They
have some contacts, which can be used for their own
advantage," Musharraf said in an interview to CNN.
The former President was responding to a question on
statements by US leaders that ISI still has contacts with the
terrorists.
Musharraf, however, went on to claim that ISI was not
supporting the terror groups. "They (ISI) will not support it
(terrorists). That was not the government policy. That was not
the military policy. However, there was ingress."
Musharraf alleged that Afghan intelligence, government
and President are under the influence of Indian intelligence
agencies and he has documentary evidence on it.
India has rubbished Pakistan's allegations saying it
was not involved in any way in the troubles in Afghanistan.
"The Afghan intelligence (is) entirely under the
influence of Indian intelligence. We know that," he said when
asked whether Afghan Taliban chief Mullah Omar is in the
Quetta city of Pakistan.
"Whatever I am saying, I am not saying it here (for
the first time). I have given documentary evidence of all this
to everyone. There is the documentary evidence. And we know
the involvement of Indian intelligence, in India, with their
intelligence," Musharraf, currently in London, charged.
He said foreign troops are not welcome in Afghanistan,
but now since they are there, they should win the battle
against al-Qaeda and the Taliban.
"Foreign troops are not welcome there (in
Afghanistan). But now that they are there, we have to win. And
quitting is not an option at all," he said.
"Anyone who is talking of quitting doesn't understand
the ramifications of quitting. He must sit down and analyse
what will happen if he were to quit there without a solution.
We have to defeat the al-Qaeda, we have to dominate the
Taliban, and we have to introduce a credible, legitimate
government in Afghanistan. But we cannot leave before that,"
he said. PTI LKJ
RAI