Washington: Describing President Pervez Musharraf as "tactically brilliant but
strategically stupid", a senior Indian official has said the Pakistani leader cannot
disown responsibility for the continued cross-border infiltration into Jammu and
Kashmir.
Musharraf is "obviously not directing every terrorist operation against our
territory, but he has not stopped lower level Army and intelligence officers from
facilitating these attacks. In that sense, I think the General is completely
responsible for the situation," the official identified as one "close to Prime
Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee" told 'Washington Times' editors and reporters in
Washington on December 11.
Although the paper did not name the official but National Security Advisor Brajesh
Mishra is currently on a visit to Washington.
The official said India's relations with Pakistan remain very tense despite the Bush
administration's efforts because Musharraf has failed to follow through on the
promises he made to Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage in June to halt
cross-border infiltration permanently.
Asked about his assessment of Musharraf, he said, "General Musharraf is tactically
brilliant but strategically stupid."
The official pointed out that Musharraf's failure to contain Islamic radical
movements at home led to strong gains for fundamentalist parties in Pakistan's
Parliamentary and provincial elections in October.
The official said that US-India relations are marked by "much better understanding
today than ever before".
Applauding President Bush's decision to work through the UN in the effort to disarm
Iraq, he said, "India stands ready to support any UN-authorised resolution".
"If Saddam Hussein complies," said the official, "India would favour a clear
declaration that UN economic sanctions against Iraq would be lifted."
He also said the democratic system has helped check the spread of Islamic
fundamentalism in India despite the country being home to one of the world's largest
Muslim populations.
Terrorist groups such as al-Qaeda, he said, "can thrive only when democracy is
absent, when the mosque becomes the only place where you can express
yourself."
The senior official said, "You have terrorism, fundamentalism and religious extremism
everywhere, but they can only really flourish in countries without
democracy."
Asked about the Gujarat violence, the senior official said it was "a blot on the
nation that must never be allowed to happen again," but noted that the clashes had
been condemned by the Central government and had not spread to other parts of the
country.
PTI
