Former Pakistan president General Pervez Musharraf on Wednesday backed Prime Minister Imran Khan against New Delhi's allegations that said Islamabad was providing safe havens to terrorists. He also accepted that Jaish-e-Mohammed could have been involved in the Pulwama terror attack that left 40 CRPF personnel dead.
In an exclusive conversation with India Today TV's Rahul Kanwal, Musharraf said Prime Minister Narendra Modi did not have any "real emotion" for the CRPF personnel killed in the Pulwama attack.
Over 40 CRPF personnel were killed in the Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM)-led terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir's Pulwama on February 14, drawing condemnation for Islamabad from across the world.
Pakistan, however, maintains that it was not involved anyhow in the Pulwama attack and will take an action against India, if it continues with its blaming spree. Imran Khan, notably, in his televised speech on February 19, did not utter a word of condolence for the martyred CRPF jawans.
To this end, Musharraf said the Pulwama terror attack was a terrible event to have occurred, but there was no reason to believe that the Pakistan government was party to it.
"It [the Pulwama terror attack] was sad. Extremely terrible. There's no doubt about it. And I have no sympathy for Jaish-e-Mohammed chief Masood Azhar. He had tried to kill me too. But that doesn't prove that Pakistan government was involved in it," Musharraf told India Today TV's Rahul Kanwal.
Musharraf added, "I don't think Imran Khan should or will have any sympathy for Jaish. And I don't believe Pakistan government was involved in it."
'India is wrongly accusing Pakistan'
When confronted with a snatch from Masood Azhar's recently released audio tape where he confirmed Jaish did carry out the attack in Jammu and Kashmir's Pulwama, Musharraf said he did admit that the terror group was responsible for the attack, but the government wasn't involved.
"India has been wrongly accusing Pakistan over everything. It's time you stopped it," he added.
'Modi ke dil mein koi aag nahin hai'
The former Pakistan president said Prime Minister Narendra Modi did not have any "real emotion" for the CRPF personnel killed in the Pulwama attack or for the Kashmiris.
"Modi ke dil mein inn logon ke liye koi aag nahin hai. Agar hoti toh woh pehle woh Kashmir ka maslaa suljhaatey," he said.
'Stop meddling with Pakistan'
Musharraf alleged that India was meddling with Pakistan by ganging up on it -- with help from France and the United States.
"Don't say we meddle with India. Don't you meddle with Pakistan? Why did you help break Pakistan into two? Didn't you meddle with East Pakistan?" Musharraf told India Today TV's Rahul Kanwal.
He added, "You are colluding with France and the US and are trying to blacklist Pakistan. Stop doing that."
'Koi surgical strike nahin ki thhi aapne, sab galat hai'
The former president also refuted the whole idea of surgical strikes by India. He claimed they were not carried out at all.
"You keep telling us that. But let me tell you it is all but a farce. There was no surgical strike carried out. We don't buy this idea at all," he said.
Musharraf's predecessor slams Imran Khan
Earlier today, another former Pakistan president, Asif Ali Zardari, slammed Imran Khan's way of handling India's allegations. Zardari said Khan was immature and did not know how to handle international politics.
"During my tenure, the Taj Hotel in Mumbai was attacked. But back then, we handled the issue amicably. This time around, the prime minister [Imran Khan] is pretty immature. He does not know what to do. He is, in fact, a back seat driver and is acting at the behest of others. That's why the situation is getting worse," Zardari told ARY News.
For the unversed, Asif Ali Zardari was the president of Pakistan when, in 2008, Mumbai was attacked by the Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT). The LeT, a Pakistan-based group, opposes Indian rule in Kashmir.
Zardari, at that time, had promised the then US secretary of state, Condoleezza Rice, that his government would take a "strong action" against Pakistani elements implicated in the Mumbai attacks, as opposed to Imran Khan's clear dismissal of Islamabad's involvement in the Pulwama terror attack.
Asif Ali Zardari further said, "We, however, still support the Army and if India plans to carry out any misadventure against us, we will be together and fight against it."
This is not the first time Zardari has spoken against Imran Khan. Earlier, when Khan assumed power in August, 2018, Zardari said he would not complete his constitutional five-year term.
"Sit down and think about the government. Now that you have become an accidental, selected prime minister, learn something," Zardari had further said.
Even, PPP chairman and Zardari's son, Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, said Imran Khan lacked the courage to talk face-to-face during Parliament sessions.
In response to these barbs, Imran Khan had once said Zardari was the biggest disease of Pakistan.
