Pakistan’s Former Military Ruler Pervez Musharraf admitted that Pakistan trained notorious international terrorists to fight against the Soviet forces in Afghanistan.
In an interview aired by a private channel, the ex-chief of the army staff acknowledged religious militancy had been initiated and terrorists trained by Pakistan.
“We trained Taliban and sent them to fight against Russia. Taliban, Haqqani, Osama bin Laden and Zawahiri were our heroes then,” the erstwhile president said.
Later on, the heroes turned villains for the country, Musharraf said, adding people needed to understand the whole environment of that time.
Musharraf also told Dunya News that Islamabad aided and trained Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) and other insurgent outfits in the 1990s to conduct attacks in the Indian-administered zone of Kashmir.
Lashkar leaders like Hafiz Saeed and Zakiur Rehman Lakhvi were treated like heroes. “In the 1990s, the freedom struggle began in Kashmir…At that time, Lashkar-e- Taiba and 11 or 12 other organisations were formed.”
About the 2008 Mumbai attack masterminds Saeed and Lakhvi, he said Saeed was among the most wanted men by India, but they roamed free in Pakistan.
Lakhvi and six other are facing trial for planning and executing the devastating Mumbai attack, which killed 166 people. Saeed was granted bail by a Pakistani court this year.
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