Deserted by his camp followers and caught in a political squeeze by his opponents, former military ruler Pervez Musharraf on Saturday vent frustration against India. "India should not talk rubbish like surgical strikes. Our forces are not sitting idle and have full capacity to retaliate to any level of aggression."
The venom spitting may well be construed as Musharraf’s crawl back into the political arena after twiddling his thumbs on the sidelines since his party suffered huge losses at the hustings and his subsequent ouster from the presidential palace.
Speaking to reporters minutes before he boarded a flight to the US, where he is scheduled to deliver a series of University lectures, Musharraf departed from protocol over the options weighed by India but steered clear of criticizing Islamabad for its handling of the diplomatic crises.
Obviously unaware of what the deaths of over 170 citizens mean in a country like India or even the answerability straddling a democratically elected government in a sovereign state, Musharraf questioned "Why they (Indians) are again and again talking of surgical strikes? Why can't Pakistan say the same."
Musharraf said his government had tried its best to develop friendly relations with the eastern neighbour. "I believe relations were going fine with India until the Mumbai attacks," he said.
"The only way to resolve the mystery of the Nov 26 attacks is to hold joint investigations," he added.
He said he would not comment on the performance of the government and neither would he compare it with his government.
Musharraf ruled Pakistan for nine and a half years after dismissing the elected government of Nawaz Sharif in October 1999, when Musharraf was the chief of army staff.
The former president said his government had never authorised any drone strikes inside Pakistan by the US-led forces. "It was agreed that the US or the NATO forces can strike upto the Pakistan-Afghanistan border and would not enter the Pakistan territory," he said.
Musharraf said the West asking Pakistan to "do more" on the terrorism front was "beyond understanding".
"Pakistan has done its best against terrorism and we are the worst victim of terrorism and still we are being targeted," said Musharraf.
This is his second foreign visit since his resignation. "I'll continue to visit foreign countries as I have invitations from friends, family and some international institutions," he said.
Musharraf’s visit to the US comes amid a widening rift between President Asif Ali Zardari and his once trusted aide and Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani and may well result in reprieve for Gilani.
The venom spitting may well be construed as Musharraf’s crawl back into the political arena after twiddling his thumbs on the sidelines since his party suffered huge losses at the hustings and his subsequent ouster from the presidential palace.
Speaking to reporters minutes before he boarded a flight to the US, where he is scheduled to deliver a series of University lectures, Musharraf departed from protocol over the options weighed by India but steered clear of criticizing Islamabad for its handling of the diplomatic crises.
Obviously unaware of what the deaths of over 170 citizens mean in a country like India or even the answerability straddling a democratically elected government in a sovereign state, Musharraf questioned "Why they (Indians) are again and again talking of surgical strikes? Why can't Pakistan say the same."
Musharraf said his government had tried its best to develop friendly relations with the eastern neighbour. "I believe relations were going fine with India until the Mumbai attacks," he said.
"The only way to resolve the mystery of the Nov 26 attacks is to hold joint investigations," he added.
He said he would not comment on the performance of the government and neither would he compare it with his government.
Musharraf ruled Pakistan for nine and a half years after dismissing the elected government of Nawaz Sharif in October 1999, when Musharraf was the chief of army staff.
The former president said his government had never authorised any drone strikes inside Pakistan by the US-led forces. "It was agreed that the US or the NATO forces can strike upto the Pakistan-Afghanistan border and would not enter the Pakistan territory," he said.
Musharraf said the West asking Pakistan to "do more" on the terrorism front was "beyond understanding".
"Pakistan has done its best against terrorism and we are the worst victim of terrorism and still we are being targeted," said Musharraf.
This is his second foreign visit since his resignation. "I'll continue to visit foreign countries as I have invitations from friends, family and some international institutions," he said.
Musharraf’s visit to the US comes amid a widening rift between President Asif Ali Zardari and his once trusted aide and Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani and may well result in reprieve for Gilani.
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