Both Taliban, India a threat to Pakistan: Musharraf

Former president says that although the Taliban pose a current threat, Pakistan should always be wary of India.

The Taliban pose a current threat to Pakistan whereas India has always posed a threat to the country, said former president Pervez Musharraf in an interview aired on Monday.

Musharraf, who was talking to Al Jazeera’s Riz Khan, said that there is no comparison between the Taliban and India as both pose a serious threat to the country.

In a response to a viewer’s question asking him whether he saw India as a bigger threat to Pakistan than the Taliban, he said:

“I think there’s no comparison. You can’t compare. Both have posed a threat. Taliban are posing a threat now, India has posed a threat all along,” he said referring to the three wars the two countries have fought since gaining independence in 1947 .

He said that the threat from India should not be taken lightly. “In 2002, they matched the entire Indian military force against our borders… they always pose a threat… I don’t think there is any comparison, this or that. Taliban pose the threat (at this moment) but that doesn’t mean we can take India lightly.”

He said that Pakistan should always be prepared for an Indian offensive, saying “whenever there is an attack in India, hysteria (is) created by politicians in India to attack us, to punish Pakistan. If God forbid, another incident takes place by extremists and terrorists within India... (and it) thinks that they should attack Pakistan, where do the armed forces go? We have to have our guard up against the eastern border. At the moment it is this (Taliban) but if India plans to attack Pakistan, it’ll shift to India then.”

Musharraf also said that the Americans should not tell Pakistan what to do in dealing with militancy in its tribal areas.

“Don’t teach us, please. Don’t micromanage for us. Where I should put the army, where I should act, where I should not act - don’t teach me this. We know more in our area in the tribal agencies than you. And also don’t come across the border.”

He added: “When you get into micromanagement and try to dictate terms to Pakistan, there are differences of opinion but it’s unfortunate that people don’t understand this differentiating between the strategic plane and the tactical plane.”