No rush against anti-India militants, says Musharraf

WASHINGTON: Former president Pervez Musharraf called Wednesday for a more gradual approach against militants such as Lashkar-e-Taiba, saying they enjoyed sympathy for fighting India.

The United States and India have urged Pakistan to step up pressure against movements such as Lashkar-e-Taiba which is blamed for planning the bloody siege of Mumbai that killed 166 people two years ago.

“You can’t rock the boat so much that the boat capsizes,” Musharraf said at the Atlantic Council think-tank in Washington.

“While these things have to be done, allow piecemeal, gradual action through a well thought-out strategy which does not disturb the entire law and order situation in Pakistan,” Musharraf said.

Musharraf acknowledged that Lashkar-e-Taiba and like-minded groups such as Jaish-e-Mohammad were “involved in terrorism in Pakistan” but said they have been “very popular” for fighting Indian rule in divided Kashmir.

“Since they were going to Kashmir and fighting the Indian army, it went along with the psyche of the people of Pakistan — with everyone,” Musharraf said.

Musharraf said the Jamaat-ud-Dawa, a wing of Lashkar-e-Taiba, “did an excellent job” in relief operations following major floods this year and “the best work” in the wake of the 2005 earthquake on the Pakistani side of Kashmir.

“It’s a difficult situation for any government in Pakistan. So the root is (to) resolve the Kashmir dispute, frankly,” Musharraf said.

Musharraf renewed criticism of President Barack Obama for not raising Kashmir during his recent visit to India and for not stopping in Pakistan, the frontline US partner in the war in Afghanistan.

Musharraf banned Lashkar-e-Taiba and Jaish-e-Mohammad in 2002 after they were accused of storming the Indian parliament. But many experts say the ban has been half-hearted, with Pakistan believing the groups serve its strategic purpose.