The Government on India on Wednesday denied visa to former Pakistan president Pervez Musharraf, said reports.
According to television reports, Musharraf was denied Indian visa for saying he is the key man behind Kargil war.
Musharraf was scheduled to visit India to attend a conference of Young Presidents Organisation (YPO), a global network of young chief executives.
In October, Musharraf told a German weekly magazine that Pakistan has trained terrorists to fight against India in Kashmir.
To a question by Der Spiegel on why did Pakistan form militant underground groups to fight India in Kashmir, Musharraf, who recently launched a political party in London, said: “They were indeed formed. The government turned a blind eye because they wanted India to discuss Kashmir.”
When told that it was the Pakistani security forces that trained them (the terrorists), Musharraf said: “The West was ignoring the resolution of the Kashmir issue, which is the core issue of Pakistan. We expected the West — especially the United States and important countries like Germany — to resolve the Kashmir issue. Has Germany done that?”
Musharraf, whose interview was translated into English from German by Der Spiegel, said the West blames Pakistan for everything but “nobody asks the Indian prime minister, why did you arm your country with a nuclear weapon?”
“Why are you killing innocent civilians in Kashmir? Nobody was bothered that Pakistan got split in 1971 because of India’s military backing for Bangladesh (which declared independence from Pakistan that year).”
“The United States and Germany gave statements, but they didn’t mean anything. Everybody is interested in strategic deals with India, but Pakistan is always seen as the rogue.”
Asked what right does Pakistan have to train underground fighters, Musharraf said: “Yes, it is the right of any country to promote its own interests when India is not prepared to discuss Kashmir at the United Nations and is not prepared to resolve the dispute in a peaceful manner.”
Musharraf is living in the UK since he relinquished power in 2008.
The former military head of Pakistan was the tenth President of the country (2001?2008). He was the Chief of Army Staff of the Pakistan Army from 1998 to 2007.
He took power on 12 October 1999, following a nonviolent military coup d’?tat and subsequent ouster of the government of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif.
On Aug 18, 2008, Pervez Musharraf resigned from the post of President under impeachment pressure from the coalition government.
He was succeeded by Asif Ali Zardari.