Interview with Pervez Musharraf

Pakistani leader Pervez Musharraf met with Monitor editors in Boston Sunday. Here are excerpts from his remarks.

CSM: Do you feel like Afghanistan is firmly on a path to produce greater stability on your border, or should the United States and the West be doing more?

Musharraf: I think the situation remains fluid. It's improving, but it remains fluid. We have to bring stability into Afghanistan, and that stability has not yet come...there are seven power centers in Afghanistan – seven or eight – which are dominated by warlords.

The writ of the government has to extend to all these seven or eight power centers. And the warlords' writ in those areas needs to be reduced and the center's impact and stature needs to be enhanced...

Now, the reconstruction element has not even taken off. There is a Tokyo Accord which has promised I think $4 billion or $4.5 billion. But this assistance is not coming because ...probably [they are] looking for political stability in Afghanistan. But this is a chicken-and-egg situation. Do you want political stability first, and then bring money? Or, money itself will bring political stability?...We must inject this money, and give the Karzai government the clout to spend this money and extend their writ through allocation of funds to these power centers that I'm talking of...Pakistan is totally supportive of the Karzai government. Whatever he's doing, I think he's the hope for the future of Afghanistan.

CSM: What do you anticipate to be the reactions of the militant communities of the Muslim world, if the United States takes action in Iraq?

Musharraf: Short answer is yes, it will have a negative impact...

CSM: That sounds like it would be counterproductive to the war on terror. You have said the Iraqi fight is not your fight, but you are part of the war on the terror, and it sounds to me like you're suggesting that action in Iraq is going to make the war on terror more difficult. Is that true?

Musharraf: Well, I've been saying that we don't want to get involved in Iraq, because we've got so much on our hands really in our own region...that we don't want to really too much to get involved [elsewhere]. One would like to say that [in] the world community, consensus needs to be generated on whatever has to be done...But, certainly the agenda in Afghanistan is not over. I only hope that our involvement and commitment to Afghanistan and that region does not get diluted because of attention going somewhere else...

CSM: We know you have very good relations with Afghanistan's President Hamid Karzai, and you will be meeting with him at the UN. But we've been hearing reports from the Afghan intelligence service that Al Qaeda has been in various pockets around Pakistan. They've named the cities of Gilgit and Chitral. What do you think is the next step for Pakistan to take in terms of getting rid of Al Qaeda in the region, and how soon do you think you can do it?

Musharraf: We are taking steps all over Pakistan...and we have made it very clear that we don't want any foreign element without valid documents in Pakistan. That includes Al Qaeda or any foreign element...

But many of these reports are exaggerated...we get information that there [are] some Al Qaeda elements hiding here and there, and we go and we launch an operation...and find nothing. So many reports are exaggerated...But in many areas we've met successes....we have recovered a lot of weapons, and I think we have arrested 400 Al Qaeda members...So it's disheartening when sometimes you read that we are going back, maybe we are going soft. No, we are acting fully....

I don't think there are elements in Chitral – it's being reported in Chitral and in Gilgit area. Whenever we get information we move against them.

CSM: You've checked out those places?

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