Mr Musharraf, please dont speak half truth

Speaking in Washington on Friday former military ruler Pervez Musharraf stated absolute negligence and not complicity was behind Osama bin Laden fiasco. Washington and Islamabad must put the episode behind them and rebuild trust. We must convince the world and the United States that the issue of Osama bin Laden was not complicity; it was negligence of a very monumental order, he said in a speech in Washington. US special forces killing of the Al-Qaeda leader in Pakistan on May 2 soured relations between the two countries over US suspicion its ally knew he was living in a town not far from the Pakistani capital for about five years. Two years of that five years was during my time. I confidently and surely say that there was not complicity because I am very sure of one thing: that I didnt know, whether one believes it or not, said Musharraf. The 67-year-old former general ruled the country from 1999-2008 and allied Pakistan with the United States after the Sept 11 attacks, forging close ties with then-President George W Bush. Dispelling suspicions over bin Laden would be the starting point of re-establishing some kind of trust and confidence in each other, he said. Musharraf, who lives in London but plans return to Pakistan next year and participate in 2013 elections, outlined steps Islamabad and Washington needed to take to restore trust in relations he said were at their lowest in a decade. In addition to dispelling the bin Laden suspicions, Pakistan had to address US anxiety that it was not actively pursuing the Haqqani group and other extremists living along its border with Afghanistan, he said. The United States must show consideration to our sensitivities about sovereignty, nuclear weapons and India, including Kashmir, said Musharraf. Pakistanis resented US drone attacks on militant targets that often killed innocent civilians, he said. This is very serious statement and should not be allowed to be left unnoticed from a man who ruled Pakistan with an iron fist. He claimed his words were the law and masterminded many operations from Nawab Akbar Khan Bugti's killing to operation Red Mosque. He used civil and military intelligence outfits like his golf clubs. How he makes such an important statement. There appears an element of distrust and mistrust between Musharraf and his successor General Kayani. General Kayani took over the Inter-Services Intelligence from General Ihsanul Haq and most trusted associate of Musharraf. It appears Musharraf kept many state matters close to his heart and never discussed them with his juniors. I remember during second term of US President George W Bush a video recording of Osama bin Laden suddenly appeared giving a shot in the arm to President Bushs second electoral campaign. First election of Bush in the US history will prove controversial like Pakistani polls. But during the second term in year 2004 Bush won with comfortable majority. He outmatched and outnumbered Democrat candidate John Kerry. Key word of Presidential election in 2004 remained 'War against terror. Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf perhaps offered some of his political engineering tricks to Bush that included mysteriously offering an Osama bin Laden video recording signalling fear among US electorate. President Musharraf, you cannot be exonerated of many hidden secrets which still make you one of the favourites at the level of Washington DC. Starting from Secretary of State Colin Powell one telephone call to Musharraf in September morning in 2001 asking him to join Americas war in the finest diplomatese, it was his deputy Richard Armitage who proved himself more persuasive by offering to help Pakistan go back to the Stone Age where it belonged. Musharraf has repeatedly revisited those eventful days in the wake of 9/11 ever since, patting himself for rescuing Pakistan from meeting a fate that has befallen its neighbour across the Durand Line. Over the past decade or so, Pakistan has upended itself to keep its commitment to Uncle Sam and to avoid ending up the way Afghanistan has. It has lost nearly 35,000 lives in Washingtons war; its economy is on the brink and the country is unravelling faster than you could say the so-called war on terror. At this moment Pakistani nation deserves complete knowledge of what exactly happened between Musharraf and George W Bush at the Camp David. What we have learnt so far that US President George Bush stood up decisively for Pakistans military ruler Pervez Musharraf, calling him a loyal ally and a man of his word and signalling Washingtons full-scale backing for the embattled dictator in the face of wide-spread criticism of US policy. In an astonishing defence of the now widely-reviled dictator, Bush told ABC News in an interview at his Camp David retreat: So far Ive found him to be a man of his word. Former Chief of Army Staff nurtures a strong political ambition. He wants to further play a role in Pakistan's already disturbed politics .He, being an ex-soldier, should speak total truth. Renowned US journalist and a holder of Pulitzer Prize Bob Woodward in one of his latest interviews alleged Yes that is right. It is already known but what has not been established yet is who at what level collaborated with Al-Qaeda. People in the US government have said that there is no evidence which can substantiate that Pakistans top leadership, President Zardari, Army Chief Kayani and ISI head Shuja Pasha, directly knew that bin Laden was hiding in Pakistan. In same breath Bob Woodward says, Kayani does not have the political ambition that Musharraf had. At least people in the US think he does not want to become the President of Pakistan. That is what a lot of people in the US are trying to avoid because they are aware of the history. During the relationships between the countries, there come times when people get excited about good things happening and they become upset with bad things occurring. At times, countries lie to each other. You have to totally learn to deal with that. The future is going to be a test for both the countries. I dont think bad things wont happen but there should be accommodation for both the countries for each other. These are the words of Bob Woodward. Their reflection is clear Musharraf had the complete knowledge or the game he jointly played with Bush. Mr Musharraf please speak total truth.