Kashmir the only problem between India and Pakistan

Nisar Ahmed Thakur

Born into a Niazi family of Pashtoon background on November 25 1952, Imran Ahmed Khan Niazi grew up at Zaman Park in the outskirts of Lahore where his mother's family had migrated from East Punjab in 1947. The legendary cricketer received his early education from Aitcheson College Lahore. It was basically the Zaman Park and Aitcheson College where he spent early 18 years of his life. After completing A-levels, Khan obtained undergraduate degree in economics from Oxford University London.

He was just 18 years old when he was selected for Pakistan team and made his debut against England in 1971. Khan has been a great all-rounder who as a terrific fighter earned name and fame in the cricket world. Some times referred as international play-boy, the charismatic Khan won hearts and minds of cricket fans all around the world thereby playing superb and indeed unforgettable innings. Under his dynamic leadership Pakistan cricket team emerged as one of the most strong and finest ever cricket teams of the world. He has the honour to win the world cup in 1992. As a skipper, his tenure is believed to be the golden period of Pakistani cricket history. He was conferred with Hilal-i-Imtiaz in 1993 by the Pakistani government. In April 2007, Imran Khan was voted as the greatest all-rounder the world has ever seen. He is also known as one of the most prominent players of the 20th century.

After retiring from cricket, Imran Khan laid foundation of state of the art Cancer Hospital & Research Centre in Lahore wherein poor people are being treated free of cost. Imran Khan is also a special representative of UNICEF and Chancellor of Bradford University. In 1995 he married Jemima Khan, the daughter of the late British billionaire Sir James Goldsmith. But unfortunately, their love-affair did not last for too long and it was 2004 when their sudden divorce took all by surprise. He has two sons named Suleiman Khan and Qasim Khan.

In 1997, the cricketer turned politician stepped into the political arena with a view to change the traditional political culture in Pakistan. Imran Khan launched his own political party, Pakistan Tahreek-e-Insaf (The movement for Justice) to bring change in Pakistan, a change in terms of peace, prosperity and socio-political justice in the country. For the first time, he contested general elections in 2002 from Mianwali and thus became Member of the National Assembly.

Khan has a dream, a dream to make his country a welfare state. A state where there is rule of law, openness and fair play. In an exclusive interview with Greater Kashmir Pakistan's national hero spoke on host of issues facing the nation.

Q: You have been a terrific fighter and indeed a successful skipper having honour to win the world cup in 1992. Would you tell us as how and when you joined Pakistan Cricket Team?

IK: In 1970 I went to play cricket in England, in the meantime I was selected for the National team. So during my tour to England in 1971 I made my debut just at the age of eighteen.

Q: You played superb innings but in your opinion what are your biggest achievements in the field of cricket?

IK: So for as my achievements in the field of cricket are concerned, I think drawing series against West Indies in 1988 was one of my great achievements, simply because West Indies was one of the all time greatest teams. So in first test mach, beating West Indies on home ground and then drawing the series for the first time after so many years I consider it was one of my biggest achievements and of course then the World Cup in 1992.

However, beating India in 1987 was not even a minor feat, remember, it was the time when every team used to have their own umpires, so in such a situation, it was impossible for India to win in Pakistan and Pakistan to win in India.

Q: After retirement from cricket, you initiated a multi-billion project of building a cancer hospital in Lahore. What was the spirit behind and how did you manage to put-up such a huge assignment?

IK: In 1985, my mother died of cancer. It was the time when there was no cancer hospital in Pakistan. That is why I wanted to build a cancer hospital, it was way back in 1988-89 that I started this project and began fund raising and really I am still raising funds, so it was basically fund raising and you know I mobilized most of Pakistanis within the country and abroad to accomplish this giant project.

Q: You are highly engaged in social welfare, tell us about other projects that you have launched in Pakistan?

IK: Well, we started a Technical College in Mianwali, which is quite remote and indeed a backward part of Pakistan. This is because I am chancellor of Bradford University and the Bradford University in England is helping me in this project. Although we started the college but next year onwards we are planning to upgrade this college to University. My ambition is to make it one of the best universities in Pakistan, in fact not just a university but I want to convert this college into a knowledge city. We are still in progress; I am acquiring land to give this project a final touch.

Q: Coming to politics; Mr. Khan would you like to tell us what was the source of inspiration or a motivating factor that prompted you to join politics?

IK: I think realization that a country can not move forward unless it has good political governance and in Pakistan either we had military dictators or we had a very poor civilian governments which are going nowhere. So I thought rather complaining and criticizing them I should myself take the plunge, go into the field so as to lead from the front. I never call it to be easy. Since then it has been continues struggle, the struggle, which I will carry on and on until I win the battle.

Q: What is the vision and political philosophy of Tahreek Insaf and who has influenced you the most, I mean who is your ideal?

IK: My philosophy is to bring rule of law in Pakistan and to make it a welfare state. This is really the philosophy and vision of Tahreek Insaf (The movement for Justice). And to ensure rule of law in the country you need an independent justice system.

Q: And your role model?

IK: As a politician I consider Qaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah as a model whereas my model role model would be Mahteer Muhammad and Nelson Mandela in the sense that these were the leaders who achieved their goals after a lot of perseverance.

Q: Politics in Pakistan is usually the game of elites. Are you satisfied with the present political system in the country? Do you see any flaws in the democratic system?

IK: Pakistan is unfortunately not elites of political Mafias; these are people who in fact benefited from politics………the people, you know, who gained a lot from politics so in that sense, it is a very exclusive club and these political mafias who used country politics for their own self interest, amassing huge wealth, abusing power that really is why, what you see, people having lost their faith, because politicians failed and military dictators find easy to come in……..

So in Pakistan what we need is basically a change here, the change by that we mean is that we need a political class that does not come from this political Mafia or some times referred as feudal lords and so on…..who had dominated the Pakistani politics. We need young people; fresh faces who take politics as a mission to serve the masses. So this is a sort of change that we desperately need here to achieve the great potential of the country.

The only flaw in the system is ………..that if you don't have rule of law, simply holding elections really don't make any difference, elections alone don't bring you democracy in the country. To have to have a genuine democracy you need an independent justice system. If you look around, I mean in third world countries, you see same thing is going on, you have elections every where but unfortunately no democracy at all. So just holding elections does not mean you have democracy in the country for that what you need is the independent judiciary and of course an independent election commission. You know when I talk about an independent and impartial election commission it is the independent judiciary that protects independent election commission.

Q: You are a staunch supporter of independent justice system, how do you see the lawyer's movement for independent judiciary?

IK: Since Pakistan movement I believe that the movement for independent judiciary is the most important movement. If we succeed in reinstating the sacked judge Iftikhar Chudhary who took a bold initiative against military dictator, would certainly be the beginning of change in Pakistan. The change, which I talk about would usher an era peace, prosperity and justice in Pakistan.

Q: Former president General retired Pervez Musharraf is said to have offered you the highest slot in his government. You rejected the offer why?

IK: Well, Musharraf in his own interview has said that "I would have been prime minister had I stayed with him" but you know it was so obvious that he was not ready to reform the country. He just wanted to grab power, so the only reason I supported him earlier was that I thought he was a reformist but the moment I realized that he was just like anyone else, I moved away from him and even I opposed him in public.

Q: You boycotted the general elections last year; don't you think that you might have been in a better position to plead your case in the parliament?

IK: Not at all, these elections were a big conspiracy against Pakistan. In fact these elections were forced on Pakistan by Bush Administration; they wanted to prop up Musharraf so that he could support US policies, which is basically meant to use our own army to bomb our own people in tribal areas. So to prop up Musharraf, they wanted a liberal alliance; they needed Pakistan Peoples Party to give a civilian face to dictatorship and this domination was pushed through by the Bush administration.

Following the November 3 Emergency, every party decided to boycott polls even the PPP chairperson Benazir Bhutto decided to boycott but remember what happened, we had Negroponte and Richard Boucher immediately rush Pakistan to annul the decision. So the reason we boycotted elections was that you can not have free and fair elections while 60% of your judges are being suspended.

Secondly the election commission was appointed by Musharraf, and the media was muzzled, you know the politicians were under arrest and within a short span of time we were supposed to have elections…...

I mean this was the situation, I think every party should have boycotted the elections, waited until the judiciary should have been reinstated and then we should have fought elections.

Q: The elections were supposed to be fair enough what do you say about it?

IK: Yes, on the polling day there was not so much rigging that is accepted but there has been pre-poll rigging as emergency was not lifted completely and whole government machinery was helping the Q-league (Pro-Musharraf Party). Secondly how could you expect fair elections when 60% judges are sacked and media is muzzled, you know most popular Current Affair programmes were taken off the air.

Q: Now that president Musharraf has gone. Do you see any change in the system and are you satisfied the way country is being governed?

IK: Nothing has changed instead of Musharraf we have Asif Ali Zardari, who is enjoying the power. He has all the powers the Musharraf had. We have parliamentary democracy but president, which is in fact a ceremonial position, has become the chief executive. We have a dummy parliament same as in the time of Musharraf and we have same judges appointed by him, the same election commission so nothing has really changed. With regard to governance it has gone down even further because rather than getting a cabinet of qualified people in Pakistan Mr. Zardari has got his conies to run the show.

Q: Pakistan is facing some daunting challenges both at national as well as international level. In your opinion what steps should be taken to take the country out of this chaos and confusion?

IK: Well the first big challenge for us is that our own army is fighting our own people in Tribal areas and it must stop immediately. I think army is not the solution as situation has gone from bad to worse by sending army in these areas. The solution is to hold dialogue with all groups, indeed it is a slow process, but there is completely a mess and we should never ever use our own army against our own people. So there is a dire need to change this strategy completely, but I think there won't be peace until NATO forces leave Afghanistan. But at least we should withdraw our forces from tribal areas and instead of using Army, Frontier core and frontier constabulary should be used to maintain law and order situation in these areas.

Secondly, there is economic crisis. The only way to solve this issue is that we need a credible government in the country. Unfortunately the present government has no credibility whatsoever. The problem we have is that our expenditures are more than the revenue being generated. The reason we don't have revenue is because the rich people in the country don't pay taxes, the powerful people don't pay taxes. So first of all we have to have a credible government where prime minister, ministers, cabinet and the parliament members pay taxes themselves. And then remove all tax holidays for the rich, the real estate people don't pay tax, the stock exchange where people make billions don't pay taxes. Agriculture income is tax-free then we have money whitening schemes. So to raise revenues we have to change the whole system, cut down our expenditures. I mean this is basic economics for this you need a strong and honest leadership.

To boost up the economy, we need foreign investment. We need overseas Pakistanis to come and invest but they don't come here because there is so much corruption in the country, therefore we need to fix our governing system. But unfortunately, without having a powerful independent judiciary system you can not fix the problems. So these are the steps we must take to deal with the issue confronting the nation.

Q: Who is responsible for all this…….?

IK: You see there has been a steady deterioration over the years, Pakistan has gradually gone down due to the mixture of military dictators and corrupt politicians all have combined to make us into what we are right now. To correct this we need a powerful and independent judiciary, which is now the movement, being led by Chudhary Iftikhar and secondly we need free and fair elections so that we have genuine representatives in the government.

Q: Coming to Indo-Pak relationship, following the Mumbai incident both the nations are yet again at loggerheads in your opinion what steps should be taken to avoid tension between the two arch rivals?

IK: Terrorism is a common threat in India and Pakistan. To deal with this problem there should be a joint commission of our intelligence agencies, they should get together, share intelligence so as to get rid of this menace.

But the basic question is….why do we have terrorism in our countries? It is due the lack of justice. You know terrorism is something that can be fought with moral authority not with guns and bombs. The first thing you have to do is to get to the root causes of this problem. You have to see as why people blow themselves up and know why people do suicide attacks. I am afraid if you fail to get to the root causes, you may not be able to tackle this issue.

There are political reasons behind this--------------so unless you sort-out the political problems we will always have tension.

Q: What about Kashmir issue and how do you see the Kashmiris' struggle for right to self-determination?

Kashmir is the key issue, you know between India and Pakistan, bigger impediment in our relation is Kashmir problem. I am afraid there is too much resistance in India to deal with this problem; you know just palming off and on, saying it were the terrorists from Pakistan is not a solution to the problem. First you have to acknowledge the fact that there is problem in Kashmir; you see there were millions of people in Kashmir who turned out on streets, protesting peacefully for Azadi, you know the demonstrations were seen all around the world, I mean that is a real issue that needs to be settled amicably.

So for as Kashmiris' struggle for right to self-determination is concerned, yes, it is a legitimate one. There struggle is not just new it has been going on since 1931.

Q: So you see Kashmir as bigger impediment in the relations between the two nations?

IK: Of course, this is the only problem. What else problem does India and Pakistan have, it is just Kashmir problem that has been hampering relations between the two nations. Had this problem been sorted out the subcontinent would have moved forward. I mean we would have achieved a lot from mutual co-operation.

It is very unfortunate that despite the pledges given to the people of Kashmir by Indian leadership that they would be given the right to choose their political destiny as envisaged in the United Nations resolutions. Even in a radio broadcast the Indian Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru made this assurance that India was committed of letting the people of Kashmir to determine their fate. Even though, you see, the issue of Kashmir is still hanging on and on. It has not been resolved, although elections have taken place but it does not mean that issue has been settled.

Q: What is your opinion about these elections?

I believe that occupation forces can not hold free and fair election, so in presence of over half a million troops in Kashmir one can not even think of a free and fair election process.

Q: What is the way forward and what steps do you suggest to make headway?

IK: Rather dealing militarily I think political settlement is the only way forward to deal with this issue. There is a dire need to have concerted efforts, be it sluggish but if there is a road map at least we will be able to move forward. I am completely against Army going to civilian areas so onus has to be on the Indian government, if you have so many troops there is always tension in Kashmir but at the same time Pakistan too should ensure that no one crosses the border from this side. Therefore the government of India will have to take some measures with regard to the troops' withdrawal so as to pave a way for peaceful solution of the vexed issue.

Q: What about peace talks? Do you agree with president Zardari's thought of leaving Kashmir settlement to next generation?

IK: Well peace process has taken real bashing following the Mumbai incident. I think whosoever is responsible should be brought to justice. But you know these attacks have shown how fragile the peace process was.

And at the same time the Mumbai attacks have made it absolutely clear that if you don't resolve the core issue you will always have problems. Any one can dislodge the whole process; therefore it is very essential that the real issue must be addressed.

So for as the statement of Mr Zardari is concerned, I don't think he is very qualified to make such statements, he has even called Kashmiri freedom fighters as terrorists and you know Pakistani people took that statement very badly. Secondly, Asif Ali Zardari does not understand the intricacies of Kashmir problem and the relationship between India and Pakistan.

Settlement of Kashmir dispute must to ensure good relations

"For a durable peace and prosperity in the entire region settlement of all disputes particularly the resolution of Kashmir dispute is imperative…" Qazi Hussain Ahmed

Nisar Ahmed Thakur

Islamabad: Hailing from North Western Frontier Province (NWFP), Qazi Hussain Ahmed was born into a religious family of Qazi Muhammad Abdul Rab at Ziarat Kaka Sahib, Nowshahra in 1938. After receiving his early education from his ancestors Qazi Matriculated from Islamia Collegiate School, obtained BSc degree from Islamia College and MSc Degree in Geography from University of Peshawar in 1962.

After completing his studies Qazi adopted teaching profession and served as a lecturer in Jehanzaib College Swat for three years. In 1965 he left the job to become a fulltime worker of Tehreek-e-Islami. Working diligently for the party, Qazi sought membership of the party in 1971. From 1971 onwards he served as City president Peshawar, Provincial Secretary General and the provincial chief of Jamat-e-Islami NWFP.

In 1978 he was raised to the office of Secretary General Jamat-e-Islami Pakistan. In 1987, the central executive committee elected Qazi Hussain Ahmed as Ameer-e-Jammat. Getting re-elected thrice as chief of the JI Pakistan he has been continuously heading the party for last more than 22 years.

Qazi Hussain Ahmad who also heads MMA, an alliance of more than half a dozen religious parties was first elected as member of the Senate of Pakistan in 1986; In an exclusive interview with greater Kashmir Qazi spoke on various issues related to Jammat and the country politics at large.

Q: Since, 1987 you have been heading JI consecutively, as a chief patron what steps did you take to strengthen your party?

When I assumed the office as Amer-e-Jammat, we started mass-mobilizing campaign all across Pakistan with a view to introduce Tehreek-e-Islami amongst the common masses besides extending the message of peace and love. This peaceful journey in which people right from Khaibar to Karachi participated in millions and it was the time when communal-violence was at peak in Southern province, particularly in Karachi, however, our caravan travelled across the city from one area to other peacefully and thanks to almighty the people received our message open heartedly. Later on we launched another mass-mobilizing campaign in Sindh and the basic purpose of this campaign was to bring an end to the prevailing hate syndrome caused due to the communal violence.

In 1997, we launched country-wide membership drive in which more than 4 million people sought membership of the party. So this was something extraordinary, you know Jammat was considered as a party of elites but due to the mass mobilizing campaigns, Tehreek-e-Islami became known to every Pakistani even those who live in far flung areas.

Q: What are the reasons that Jammat could not emerge as mainstream parliamentary party?

There are so many reasons that JI could not emerge as a mainstream parliamentary party in Pakistan. The main reason is that the country has always been under the clutches of feudalism and dictatorship as well as the bureaucracy. Once this siege comes to end and a real transition of power to the masses takes place, I am sure Jammat as the most organised political force will emerge as a vibrant political party in the country.

Q: Cynics say that Jammat has deviated from its basic ideology and the principles set by its founding father, Abul Aala Moudoodi what do you about it?

As such Moulana Moudoodi by himself has not given any specific guidelines to run the party, whatever he did is ……..he preached what the prophet Muhammad (PBUH) taught us in the light of Quran and Sunnah. And no Muslim whosoever can betray the principles set by the great prophet. We are strictly bound to the basic ideology. However, our Dawat is not towards a particular person or a party rather we call people towards Allah, the almighty and those who listen to our call, we organise them, train and educate them according to the tenants of Islam and the teachings of holly prophet (PBUH). Then we utilize this organised group to reform the society in consonance with the teachings of Islam. So this is our strategy by which we want to bring change in the system so as to make Pakistan an Islamic state.

And there is no question of betrayal, deviation or whatever you say. Moulana Moudoodi (AR) on various occasions has said that to achieve the ultimate objectives of Tehreek-e-Islami we need support of people and you know it is not possible unless you seek support of the common masses.

Q: Jammat believes in democracy but it has been accused of supporting dictatorial regimes in the country, how do you justify?

As I earlier told you that there is a club comprising of feudal lords, bureaucrats, and capitalists who had taken hostage the whole country. Those who criticise us are in fact the people belonging to same class. You know Jammat has always been the target as we struggled for the poor and deprived people of the country; we fought for democracy, justice and rule of law in the country. We are a party having dedicated, honest and corruption-less leadership, our leaders have never enjoyed perks and privileges and nor we accepted any sort of concessions whatsoever. People know it well…….what Jammat has achieved during the years of struggle……, our struggle has always been against dishonesty, irregularities and corrupt leadership.

Q: Your ultimate motive is to setup Islamic system of governance in the country do you believe that under the prevailing political system you would be able to achieve your motto?

We do have a constitution and other institutions like the Council of Islamic ideology whereby it has been clearly illustrated that the legislation in the country would be done in line with Quran and Sunnah. This council basically makes recommendations to Parliament and Provincial Assemblies to bring laws to conform to Quran and Sunnah. Abiding by the constitution if administrative, legal and institutional reforms are being made under the supervision of this council I am sure we would be able to transform Pakistan into a viable Islamic state.
Q: During Mushrraf's rule, MMA of which JI has been an important entity contested elections under Legal Frame Work Ordinance (LFO) and later empowered the president by supporting 17th amendment. What do you say about it?

This is not only MMA (Muthida Majlis-e-Amal), the elections under LFO were contested by every party. However, we strongly opposed the LFO. In this context a special delegation of MMA met the former president Pervez Musharraf. Led by Moulana Shah Ahmed Noorani (late), the delegation formally presented a memorandum to Pervez Musharraf and asked him to resign from the post. After having a detailed meeting we tried a lot to convince him that rather issuing fresh ordinance, elections should be held in the country without altering the constitution. We said him that by doing so, he would be remembered in the history for ever.

Finally, when he decided to held elections under LFO every party thought that confrontation would lead nowhere, therefore having no alternative we too thought that using this as a ladder we will be able to continue our struggle politically. After the elections when we reached the parliament we lodged a strong protest against the promulgation of the ordinance and made it clear that we will not take oath under the LFO.

So for as the 17th amendment is concerned, we did it with good intention, as Musharraf promised to doff off his uniform before 31 December 2004. But he deceived the parliament and the whole nation. With the help of his cronies he managed to pass a bogus resolution from the parliament allowing him to hold two positions as army chief and a civilian president. Even, Musharraf declared emergency in the state just to grab power. We had supported the 17th amendment with a view that Musharraf will quit and then we will do away with this amendment through parliament. But later he deceived us….and today, the people, who came to power through a deal, lay blame on us, but why don't they dispose off the 17th amendment now. Why do they not move a resolution in the parliament?

Q: What about MMA (Muthida Majlis-e-Amal)?

This alliance has greatly helped to curb the sectarian violence in the country besides creating a congenial atmosphere based on trust and reconciliation. And we wanted to keep this alliance in tact as it was in the best interest of the country.

Q: You boycotted assembly elections. Was it a wise decision on your part and don't you think you would have plead your case in a better way in the parliament?

In view of the present political situation we think that our decision was quite right. Had Nawaz Sharief boycotted the elections the situation would have been quite different at the moment. Unfortunately he betrayed us, first he decided not to participate in the elections and later back-tracked from his commitments as a result you see he too is in dilemma now.

Q: The elections were supposed to be fair enough what do you say about it?

No not at all. Particularly in Karachi and Hyderabad areas there have not been what it is being portrayed as fair electoral process as MQM members bagged millions of votes, how did this all happen. People were harassed at the polling stations; you know live videos were aired by private TV networks showing men carrying weapon. Even European Union commission has in its report highlighted as how the poll rigging took place.

Q: Now that the civilian government has assumed the charge do you see any change in the policies?

There is no change; however, faces have definitely changed. In terms of policy there is absolutely no change whatsoever. We have same policies as it were during the Musharraf government; innocent people are ruthlessly being killed in tribal areas and Swat valley. As a result we have millions of internally displaced people today suffering terribly.

Q: Pakistan has been plunged into a number of crises in recent years; lawlessness, peace and security are some of the grave challenges. Who is responsible for all this….and how to tackle these issues?

Due to Mushrraf's unpopular and pro-American policies the country has been plunged into deep crisis. Law and order situation is worse; our army is fighting against our own people. This was in fact a deep-rooted conspiracy of America to create a void between army and the masses. Whatever is going on in the tribal areas….. It produces a sharp reaction throughout the country that benefits none other than India. Under the patronage of NATO forces, India has setup its consulates near Pak-Afghan border. India has no justification of opening of consulates near the frontiers? There are no Indian nationals living in these border areas. This is in fact a conspiracy against Pakistan.

Law and order situation is the main reason of economic meltdown in the country. I am sure once the law and order situation is restored in the country, all the problems will be settled. It is due to the prevailing law and order situation that Pakistani investors are not ready to make investment in the country.

Q: Coming to Indo-Pak relationship: 60 years down the lane we see hostility continues to plague the relationship between the two nations what is the point of view Jamat-e-Islami in this regard?

We are not averse to friendly relations between India and Pakistan, what we say is that for a durable peace and prosperity in the entire region settlement of all disputes particularly the resolution of Kashmir dispute is imperative.

As long as the unresolved dispute of Kashmir is there, I don't think there would be any improvement in the relations between the two nations. So the two countries have to resolve this dispute in accordance with the wishes and aspirations of Kashmiri people.

There is no second opinion, even during my interaction with Indian intellectuals; I said that if we respect the Kashmiris' aspirations, they would become a peace-bridge between India and Pakistan. If the people of other princely states were given this right to choose their political destiny in accordance with the partition plan why the people of Kashmir are deprived of this right? So India must accept this reality. This is the root cause of tension between the two countries. If this hostility comes to end I believe this would usher a new era of peace, prosperity and stability in the region.

Q: What do you mean by Right to self-determination, is it just limited to India and Pakistan or more than this?

According to partition plan, about 540 princely states were given the right to either accede Pakistan or to India dominion. Had they been given third option there would have been more 500 independent states in the subcontinent. So this is not feasible even India will not accept it.

Q: You have strongly opposed Mushrraf's 4-point formula, why?

We believe that plebiscite under the auspicious of Unite Nations is the most feasible solution of Kashmir dispute. You know Musharraf has shown great flexibility in this regard, which created a mess and people did not like it at all.

Q: What about dialogue process?

We do believe in a dialogue but there has to be a meaningful and result-oriented dialogue. To have a time-bound and result-oriented dialogue, first of all, India should accept Kashmir as a disputed territory. Otherwise, dialogue for the sake of dialogue means wastage of time.

Q: What is your evaluation with regard to war against terror?

UN has so for failed to define this hypothetic idea of "War on Terror", the member countries are confused as how to explain it and there is absolutely no idea as against whom this war is being waged in which millions of innocent people have so far been killed mercilessly throughout the world.

Muslims have been the prime target so for and I believe this is a conspiracy to undermine Muslims across the globe and we all must join hands together, evolve a mechanism to thwart this nefarious design and expose the real culprits who played havoc in the name of so-called war on terror.