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Singh sez al-Qaeda still has a major base in Pakistan
Indian officials believe Al Qaeda still has a âsignificant baseâ in Pakistan, while voicing concern over the danger of militants seizing that countryâs nuclear arsenal, news reports said on Thursday.Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said there âwas no doubtâ Osama bin Laden and his Al Qaeda network still had a âsignificant baseâ in neighbouring Pakistan, the PTI news agency reported, quoting the premierâs interviews with the Washington Post and CNN. Singh has just wound up a visit to the US where both countries signed a landmark civilian nuclear agreement. The Indian premier said he was worried about the security of Pakistanâs nuclear assets should President Pervez Musharraf be replaced since there was always the danger of Islamic militants seizing power and taking control of the countyâs nuclear assets. âIf they get into the hands of the jihadi elements that could pose serious problems ... I hope that this does not happen and I pray that this will not happen,â Singh said. He expressed the hope that âcredible solutionsâ can be found to that problem. The Indian premier said he was aware of the role of terrorist elements in Pakistan in the last few years, and that the Taleban was the creation of the Pakistan extremists. Further, Wahabi Islam had flourished as thousands of madrassas were set up to preach jihad and the hatred of other religions. Asked by Washington Post editors about a possible request by nuclear-armed Pakistan for a similar agreement on nuclear cooperation with the US, Singh said this was a decision which the US had to make, but the role played by terrorist elements in Pakistanâs history have to be taken into account. âI wish President Musharraf well. We want to work with him to bring better balance in our relations,â he said, adding India wanted Pakistan to emerge as a moderate Muslim state. Posted by: Dan Darling 2005-07-22 |
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