Zardari calls for troop withdrawal

KARACHI: President Asif Ali Zardari has called for the withdrawal of Indian and Pakistani troops from Siachen Glacier, the world’s costliest and highest battleground.

In his wide-ranging talks with journalists at the Sindh Chief Minister House on Friday, the president also said that the UN report on the assassination of Benazir Bhutto is incomplete and it appears that relevant officials were in a hurry to finish the job.

“I don’t know why they did not cover different aspects of the incident. We had deposited $5 million as fee for the investigation. The probe was so quick that they did not even spend the whole money and submitted the unfinished report to us,” he said.

He said the same thing happened with the report of former Lebanese prime minister Rafik Hariri, who was killed in a car bomb explosion in 2002. The UN investigation into his murder is also pending.

“The question is not who the killer of Benazir is, but why she was assassinated,” he said. He alleged that Osama bin Laden had sponsored the toppling of the first PPP government, adding that no-one had believed this “when we initially raised the issue”. “Now it has been proved that OBL was the main financier behind the move.”

Talking about the water shortage, the president said that some nationalists are criticising the government by opposing construction of dams and the Chashma-Jhelum link canal. “I can say that no one is a bigger nationalist than me. But the difference is that I don’t believe in discrimination and all the provinces  are equal to me,” he said.

He said the water crisis in the country is not a new phenomenon. “We need to conserve water because in the coming half a century it will become a rare commodity, with prices exceeding those of petrol,” the president said, adding that the government is trying to get to grips with the situation by building small dams.

In his view, water scarcity will not be overcome by merely opening and closing link canals. This can be done by building dams for conserving water. Looking at the climate change, he said, India and Pakistan should consider preserving glaciers.

Handing power

He said Bilawal has completed his graduation from Oxford University and he is being schooled in politics. “I want to hand over the party leadership to its actual heirs,” Zardari added.

Resolution of disputes

He said the Pakistan-India dialogue was hindered by India’s internal political squabbling. Islamabad wants resolution of all disputes with New Delhi, including water and Siachen,  “We want withdrawal of Indian and Pakistani forces from Siachen, which is a costly front for the two countries. Similarly, we want the resolution of the water dispute at the earliest,” Zardari said.

He said terrorism has turned into a deep-rooted industry, which needed to be uprooted. The president directed the Sindh government to take immediate steps to curb ever-growing tribal clashes in the province. “There will be no feudal or Sardari (chieftain) system here, because we all are equal,” he declared. (with input from online)

Published in The Express Tribune, July 24^th, 2010.