Category: News
Date: 06.12.2004
Printable version
Hiding women away in the
home hidden behind veils is a backward view of Islam and is absolutely
wrong, President Musharraf of Pakistan tells Newsnight
tonight in an exclusive interview on the eve of his visit to the British
Pakistani community in Manchester.
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In tonight's interview on Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ TWO at 10.30pm presenter Kirsty Wark
asks the President of Pakistan, General Parvez Musharraf, about issues
surrounding integration following Pakistan High Commissioner Dr Lodhi's
recent criticisms of some sections of the British Pakistani community.
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Dr Lodhi said that women should be treated as equal partners and not
hidden away in the home.
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Musharraf answered: "I don't believe in that. This is a backward
view of the religion. This is a totally backward view of Islam and I
don't believe in it, and this is exactly what I meant when we are saying
that in Pakistan the vast majority is moderate.
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"My wife is travelling around. She is very religious but she is
very moderate. So this is a very backward view.
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"Some people think that the women should be confined to their
houses and put veils on and all that and they should not move out -
absolutely wrong."
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The Pakistani president was also asked whether he thought the war
on terror had made the world less safe.
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He told Newsnight: "Yes, absolutely. And I would add that unfortunately
we are not addressing the core problems, so therefore we can never address
it in its totality.
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"We are fighting it in its immediate context but we are not fighting
it in its strategic long-term context."
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He added: "It is the political disputes and we need to resolve
them, and also the issue of illiteracy and poverty.
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"This combined are breeding grounds of extremism and terrorism."
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The Pakistani President was questioned on why Osama Bin Laden had not
yet been captured.
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Asked whether part of the problem was that the Pakistani people have
no desire to see Bin Laden handed over to America, he replied: "Well
yes, I wouldn't deny this fact, that because of whatever has happened
this man has taken on the stature of a hero in a certain kind of people...
in certain... especially in the extremists, and therefore he would have
some abetters there, and that is the reality."
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During the interview President Musharraf was asked whether he would
let the International Atomic Energy Authority speak directly to Dr A.Q.
Khan, who helped Pakistan develop the nuclear bomb, but also allegedly
gave nuclear secrets to Iran, Libya and North Korea.
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He replied: "We have no inhibitions of not passing the information
on, so why shouldn't they be trusting us?
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"Will anyone who comes and meets him be more capable than our
organisation, than us? So I think it's... I won't say even demeaning
that, it's thinking that we are just incapable or we are not trustworthy."
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Further questioned on whether there was a remote chance, because of
Dr A.Q. Khan's actions, that Osama Bin Laden could eventually get his
hands on some kind of nuclear capability, he replied: "I don't
believe in alarming... he is not competent, he cannot produce a bomb...
I am not at all trying to defend him, he has done something which has
brought a bad name to my country, to Pakistan, and we regret that and
we really certainly condemn him in all the strongest words.
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"But his passing anything is not sufficient to make a bomb. It
needs a lot of much greater effort, much greater time, much more people
to be able to achieve a nuclear device which can explode the trigger
mechanism."
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President Musharraf was also questioned about whether he had counselled
President Bush against any further military action in his area, particularly
with regard to Iran during his second term.
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Musharraf replied: "Yes, yes, certainly I have expressed these
views, that we have opened too many fronts and the time is to close
fronts rather than opening new ones."
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Asked what he had said he replied: "Well I didn't do this time,
this time, frankly but I have been saying in the past."
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