"Everything will stop if you address the core issue," said Former Pakistan president General Pervez Musharraf. (File Photo)
Former Pakistan president General Pervez Musharraf today said its military intelligence ISI trains Lashkar-e-Taiba and Jaish-e Mohammad and terror attacks in India will not stop until New Delhi addresses the "core" issue of Kashmir.
Defending terror activities in India in an interview to India Today television, the 72-year-old former General of Pakistan Army said, "Kashmir continues to arouse sentiments in Pakistan... Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) trains Jaish-e- Mohammad and Lashkar-e-Taiba terrorists."
"Everything will stop if you address the core issue," he said. "That is what you don't want to do."
General Musharraf's admission confirms Pakistani-American terrorist David Headley's statement, who is currently testifying before a Mumbai court in connection with the 26/11 attack in Mumbai. Headley has spoken of the involvement and collaboration between ISI and Lashkar-e-Taiba chief Hafiz Saeed during the attacks in 2008 that killed 166 people. Pakistan has not made any comments on David Headley's statement and its media has so far downplayed it.
General Musharraf, however said he does not believe anything Headley has said. "Pakistan intelligence should interrogate Headley."
Despite India's furnishing repeated proof of Lashkar and its chief Hafiz Saeed's involvement in the 26/11 attacks, Saeed roams free in Pakistan. "LeT and Hafiz Saeed are not involved in terror activities in Pakistan," General Musharraf said.
Asked about Jaish-e Mohammad chief Masood Azhar, who was involved in two attacks against Musharraf, the former military general said, "Anyone who is doing any other act in Pakistan like, I know that he attacks me, is a terrorist certainly. Therefore I call him a terrorist."
Asked to comment on Foreign Secretary-level talks that were postponed after attack at the Pathankot air base in January, he said, "You want to bulldoze us, you want to bully us and you want to dominate us. You only want to talk about issues concern you like terrorism, Mumbai and Pathankot."
He also accused the Indian intelligence agency RAW (research and Analysis Wing) of carrying out terror attacks in Pakistan from Afghanistan. "Intelligence organisation on our side as well as on your side is involved," he said.