Lahore: Former Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf recently admitted in an interview that Islamabad supported and trained groups like the Lashkar-e-Taiba in the 90s to promote militancy in Kashmir. He also revealed that Lashkar leaders, Hafiz Saeed and Zakiur Rehman Lakhvi enjoyed the status of heroes at the time.
Speaking to local media, Musharraf said, “In the 1990s, the freedom struggle began in Kashmir... At that time, Lashkar-e-Taiba and 11 or 12 other organisations were formed. We supported them and trained them as they were fighting in Kashmir at the cost of their lives.” Saeed is among India's most wanted men and roams free in Pakistan, making provocative anti-India speeches. Lakhvi and six other accused face trial for planning and executing the attack on November 26, 2008, that accounted for 166 lives. However, he was granted bail by a Pakistani court earlier this year, prompting strong protests from India. Musharraf said, “The Kashmiri freedom fighters, including Hafiz Saeed and Lakhvi were our heroes at that time. Later on, the religious militancy turned into terrorism. Now they are killing their own people here and this should be controlled and stopped.”
When asked whether Saeed and Lakhvi should also be “controlled and stopped”, Musharraf said, “No comments”. He also said that “religious militancy” was started by Pakistan which brought militants from all over the world to fight against Soviet forces. “We trained Taliban and sent them to fight against Russia. Taliban, Haqqani, Osama Bin Laden and Zawahiri were our heroes then. Later they became villains,” he said, adding that people need to understand the whole environment at that time.
