I'm nobody's 'chamcha', says indignant Musharraf

New York,May 17 (ANI): Angered over being accused of toeing the line of the United States during his regime, former Pakistan President General Pervez Musharraf has said he is no body's chamcha (tool).

"I'm nobody's 'chamcha [tool], nor do I take dictation from anyone," The Nation quoted Musharraf, as saying.

Talking to media persons here, Musharraf also refuted the notion that fundamentalism became deep rooted during his rule.

"The process got underway after the 1979 Soviet military invasion of Afghanistan 30 years ago, accelerating after US attack in 2001 when remnants of Al-Qaeda and Taliban sneaked into Pakistan tribal areas," Musharraf claimed.

Commenting on the Swat military operation, he said Pakistan Army has the capability to root out extremism from the region, and added that the Army must flush out the Taliban and other extremists from the region of their control.

"We must defeat them. The operation should be sustained until the target of defeating the militants was achieved," Musharraf said.

When reminded that the US-led allied forces had failed to curb Al-Qaeda and the Taliban during the nine year long 'war on terror' in the region, he said: "There was no option but to take them on in order to destroy them." (ANI)