Pak feared Indian strike post Mumbai attacks: ISI chief

Islamabad, Jan 7 (PTI) Ruling out a war with India over
the Mumbai terror attacks, Pakistan's powerful Inter-Services
Intelligence (ISI) chief has said terrorism, not India was the
country's prime enemy.

Lt-Gen Ahmad Shuja Pasha also said that Pakistan had
initially feared an attack from India as a reprisal to the
Mumbai attacks.

"We may be crazy in Pakistan, but not completely out of
our minds. We know full well that terror is our enemy, not
India," the ISI-chief told German magazine 'Der Spiegel' in a
rare interview.

But he said that as the Mumbai attacks unfolded, Pakistan
had prepared for a "military reaction" after the Mumbai
tragedy.

"At first we thought there would be a military reaction
... as the Indians, after the attacks, were deeply offended
and furious, but they are also clever," Pasha said.

India had recently said Pakistan's state agencies had a
hand in the Mumbai terror strikes, which Islamabad is denying.

The ISI, often labelled as a 'state within a state', has
also been accused of links with radical groups but its chief
claimed that his powerful agency was under the control of the
recently elected democratic government.

Pasha told the magazine that "there will be no war".

"We are distancing ourselves from conflict with India,
both now and in general," he said.

For the first time, the ISI chief in the interview said
he was willing to travel to New Delhi after Prime Minister
Yousuf Raza Gilani accepted a request by his Indian
counterpart following the Nov 26 attacks.

But the general, without revealing the reasons for not
doing so, remarked: "Many people here are simply not ready".

ISI is widely believed to have set up Lashkar-e-Taiba
which New Delhi says masterminded the Mumbai carnage that left
over 180 people, including several foreigners dead and has
handed over crucial evidence in the shape of taped
conversation between the attackers and their handlers based in
Pakistan.

But toeing Islamabad's official line, the general said
India had failed to provide evidence to back their claims that
ISI-sponsored Pakistani groups were behind the attacks.

"They have given us nothing, no numbers, no connections,
no names. This is regrettable," he said.

Seeking to allay Western fears, Pasha claimed Pakistan
was focussed on fighting terrorism and not fomenting it.

"We know, full well that terror is our enemy, not India,"
he said.

Pasha said he and the army chief Ashfaq Parvez Kayani
supported the current government which assumed power after
eight years of military rule.

"It is completely clear to the army chief and me that
this government must succeed. Otherwise we will have a lot of
problems in this country," he said.

"The result would be problems in the West and the East,
political destabilisation and trouble with America. Anyone who
does not support this democratic government today simply does
not understand the current situation," he added.

On who controlled the agency, the general said he
reported to the President and took orders from him.

Lt-Gen Pasha also rubbished reports of a meeting Gen
Ashfaq Parvez Kayani, the army chief, had with US military
officials on board the aircraft carrier, USS Abraham Lincoln,
in August.

The western media were rife with speculations that the
two sides had reached a tacit understanding that Pakistan
would allow the US military to carry out drone attacks in the
tribal area.

"We never discussed that, nor did we agree to it," the
general said.

"But to be honest, what can we do against the drone
attacks? Should we fight the Americans or attack an Afghan
post because that's where the drones are coming from? Can we
win this? Does it benefit Pakistan?"

Pasha also told the magazine that he was unwilling to
crack down on the Taliban leadership. "Shouldn't they be
allowed to think and say what they please? They believe that
jihad is their obligation. Isn't that freedom of opinion?" he
asked. PTI