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| India-Pakistan |
| Fazl bloc wants U.S. military out |
| 2002-11-10 |
| A leader of Pakistan's religious right, coming off the bloc's best election showing in the country's 55-year history, demanded Saturday that the U.S. military leave the country. "We were opposed to their war in Afghanistan before and we are opposed now. The vote of the people was clear. They want them out of Pakistan," Fazl-ur Rahman told The Associated Press in an interview Saturday. "We want them out of Afghanistan, too. And we want them out of Arabia. And we want them out of Europe. And we want them out of Asia..." "People want good relations with the United States, but they want their sovereignty," he said. "They will have to respect the will of the people of Pakistan." There is no requirement, on the other hand, for the Paks to respect the will of the people of the U.S... His voice soft, his head swathed in his trademark orange turban, Rahman chose his words carefully. He said he did not want to answer questions about the Taliban and al- Qaida, or about them finding sanctuary here under a government that included the religious right. "These are issues we will speak about in detail after the government is formed," he said. "If we welcome them with open arms before we're in power, the army might not let us take charge..." But his lieutenant, Mir Hussain Gillani, a squat white-bearded cleric who sat at his side, said his party's policies are clear. He also said that it was the religious duty of every Muslim Pakistani to protect and offer sanctuary to Taliban and al-Qaida. He said Osama Bin Laden was not a terrorist, but "Osama is one of the biggest followers of Islam. And what has he done? What has the United States and the West proven that he has done?" "What's a few thousand people dead? They were only infidels, mostly..." |
| Posted by:Fred Pruitt |