Musharraf pleads with US to repose faith on Pakistan

Washington, Jul 22: Pervez Musharraf, the exiled former President of Pakistan has once again reiterated that "absolute negligence and not complicity" was behind his country's Osama bin Laden debacle.

It can be recalled that terror lynchpin Osama bin Laden was on May 01, killed in Abbottabad of Pakistan. It is believed that he stayed in the garrison town, with the blessings of elements in Pakistani government and army.

Speaking in Washington, he said, "We must convince the world and the United States that the issue of Osama bin Laden was not complicity; it was negligence of a very monumental order."

Seeking to clear the air on reports that Osama stayed in Pakistan for five years, he said, "Two years of that five years was during my time. I confidently and surely say that there was not complicity because I am very sure of one thing: that I didn't know, whether one believes it or not."

The former President of Pakistan, also took the opportunity to beg the US to have a re-look at the deteriorating ties between the two countries. He also outlined steps that the two countries need to take to restore trust in relations that are "at their lowest in a decade".

As is the case with all Pakistani leaders, Musharraf too tried to press home the concerns they have about India. He said, "The United States must show consideration to our sensitivities about sovereignty, nuclear weapons and India, including the divided and disputed territory of Kashmir."

He said that his country expects from the US "a more balanced treatment of Pakistan and India and understanding that Pakistan's nuclear capability is because of an existential threat."

OneIndia News