ISI supports al Qaeda,Taliban: Benazir

Washington, Aug 29: Former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto has accused certain elements in the Inter Services Intelligence (ISI) for continuing the alliance with the Taliban and al Qaeda on the premise that Pakistan"s security requires "strategic depth" in the shape of a friendly, or pliant Afghanistan.

The ISI was continuing to adhere to the old arrangement, "even if it means supporting fanatics," Bhutto said in an interview with YaleGlobal.

It is essential for Pakistan to support democracy in Afghanistan, the Daily Times quoted her, as saying.

Bhutto wanted an end to the ISI"s policy of strategic depth, and said that Afghanistan has traditionally been viewed either as a buffer state or as a forward policy state where there is strategic depth.

"I think for us it is much better to have an Afghanistan that is peaceful, that allows us to trade with it, that has good relations with all its neighbours," she added.

Commenting on the US criticism that Musharraf was not doing enough to capture al Qaeda suspects hiding in Pakistan, Bhutto said, "As a Pakistani, it certainly hurts me very much when I see that inevitably the trail of terrorists leads back to my country. We don"t want to make our country hospitable to such elements."

Bhutto said that Pakistan"s tribal areas have been ceded to the foreign elements, to Afghan Taliban, Arab and Chechen militants. And now those groups actually administer parts of our territory, holding our people hostage, and dispense their own form of justice. They teach little 12-year-old boys to behead those they accuse of being spies.

Bhutto said that the Musharraf regime had verbally expressed the desire to eliminate terrorism and extremism in Pakistan, but unfortunately it had not been able to assert the rule of law in the country.

A government under her control, Bhutto promised, would move swiftly to assert law and order in the tribal areas of Pakistan, hunt down al Qaeda leaders, stop the drug trade, and reform the political madrassas that were actually militant headquarters.

Asked about the US incursion threats to Pakistan, Bhutto replied, "Well, I can understand why they say that, because they feel that Islamabad has failed to stop the terrorists and that is why they would like to move in."

"I would really urge against that. I believe that the violation of Pakistan"s sovereignty through unauthorised military action will have very adverse consequences. When under attack, all Pakistanis will forget their differences and will unite. So any unauthorised action would pit NATO against all the people of Pakistan, and I do not think that is advisable," she added.

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