Modi has lost his mind: Musharraf

Says India interfering in Balochistan to destabilise Pakistan

ISLAMABAD: Former president General (retd) Pervez Musharraf has lashed out at Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and said that he has lost his mind.

During an interview, the ex-military dictator Musharraf said India was interfering in Balochistan to destabilise Pakistan. He said the Indian- Afghan nexus was well known and the Afghan intelligence KHAD was used for the nefarious designs of India.

Answering to a question, Musharraf expressed sorrow over the death of Baloch warlord Nawab Akbar Bugti who was killed in a military operation in 2006 and said they did not intend to kill him but rather he died in an accident, he attempted suicide or Bugti blew himself with explosion.

He said a traitor was praising Modi while he was not even present in Balochistan. He was referring to Brahamdagh Bugti, the grandson of Bugti and head of the outlawed Baloch Republican Army, who is currently in exile in Switzerland and has launched a violent secessionist movement in the province.

When asked about the Haqqani Network, he said Jalaluddin Haqqani’s father was considered a hero and was invited to the United States where he met President Reagan. However, times have changed now and heroes have become villains. He said the 9/11 attacks were conducted by Osama bin Laden who he considered as a terrorist.

Musharraf commended the response of Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan towards the Indian Home Minister Rajnath Singh during the recently-concluded Saarc meeting in Islamabad and said he deserved such a befitting response.

He said he will be traveling to London within this month and will proceed to the United States for treatment next month. He hinted that he might return to Pakistan in October.

The former president expressed disappointment over the restrictions placed on him and said that his properties in Pakistan which have been seized were for personal use and not for commercial purposes. He also said that his bank accounts were frozen while he was not wealthy enough like other politicians.

He laughed when asked when former President Asif Zardari would return to the country and said that he was safe abroad while he would face action from Rangers and other law enforcement agencies upon return to the country. He said that there was a difference in leadership style between Zardari and Bilawal Bhutto.

Musharraf said that he does not foresee any political change within the current year and that elections will be held as scheduled in 2018. However he did foresee the PML-N will also form the next government in the centre while the PPP will win in Sindh as there was no other viable option. He expressed doubts whether the PTI will retain their government in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

He said the Field Marshal was a ceremonial post and it was unlikely that the entire armed forces will be under a single person. He admitted that he was a five star general which had a more exalted status than a four star general.

He was responding to the claim made by Imran Khan that Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif had offered the post of Field Marshal to General Raheel Sharif. He said that Raheel Sharif can be elevated as the Field Marshal but there would be a clash if there was another Army Chief