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Pakistan's Musharraf defends US' wars

September 12, 2016 at 4:49 am

Pakistan’s former president General Pervez Musharraf spoke out on Sunday defend his support of U.S.-led war’s in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Musharraf said in an interview to mark the anniversary of the 11 September terrorist attacks,

The whole world had supported the U.S. invasion of Afghanistan after the 9/11 terrorist attacks. Pakistan alone could not oppose that

Going on to say,

We had taken the right decision, keeping the post-9/11 circumstances in view…This is absolutely wrong to say that I had surrendered to a telephone call made by Colin Powell [U.S. secretary of state at the time]. We simply joined the war against terrorism as it was in our own interest

The former leader went on to say that, had Pakistan rejected the US’s requests for support, it would have made little difference to the progress of the war.

The U.S. would have invaded Afghanistan from India even if Pakistan had refused to do that [provide bases to the U.S.]. But [then] we would have been completely isolated

Musharraf was forced out of office in 2008 under threat of impeachment. He is currently in London and has been charged with high treason over his use of emergency rule in 2007.

Pakistan remains a frontline for the US’ ‘War on Terror’. According to the Bureau of Investigative Journalism, there have 424 drone strikes on Pakistan since 2004, killing 2,499-4,001 people, of which 424-966 were civilians and 172-207 were children