Musharraf admits that Pakistan trained militant groups against India (Lead: Musharaff)

New Delhi, Oct 5 (ANI): Former Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf and head of the newly established All Pakistan Muslim League (APML), has admitted that Pakistan had trained underground militant groups to fight in Kashmir.

"They (underground militant groups to fight against India in Kashmir) were indeed formed," The NDTV quoted Musharraf, as saying in an interview to German magazine Der Spiegel.

"Yes, it is the right of any country to promote its own interests when India is not prepared to discuss Kashmir at the United Nations and is not prepared to resolve the dispute in a peaceful manner," he added.

On being questioned why Pakistan train militant underground groups to fight India in Kashmir, Musharraf said former Pakistan President Nawaz Sharif's apathy to the Kashmir issue was one of the reasons, so was the fact that the world had turned a blind eye to the dispute.

"The (Nawaz Sharif) Government turned a blind eye because they wanted India to discuss Kashmir," he added.

Musharraf further arguing that each country had a right to promote its national interest indicated that he had no regrets for the 1999 Kargil armed conflict with India.

During the interview, he also lashed out at the international community, particularly the West, for what he said "persistently ignoring the Kashmir issue", and for singling out Pakistan for all blames.

"The West was ignoring the resolution of the Kashmir issue, which is the core issue of Pakistan. We expected the West - especially the United States and important countries like Germany - to resolve the Kashmir issue. Has Germany done that?" Musharraf asked.

Announcing his intention to to contest the 2013 elections, Musharraf launched his political party the All Pakistan Muslim League in London on Friday.

"The West blames Pakistan for everything. Nobody asks the Indian prime minister, why did you arm your country with a nuclear weapon? Why are you killing innocent civilians in Kashmir?" said Musharraf.

"Nobody was bothered that Pakistan got split in 1971 because of India's military backing for Bangladesh. The United States and Germany gave statements, but they didn't mean anything," he added. (ANI)