Musharraf wants Quake aid to fight terrorism
Be vigilant: Musharraf
Muzaffarabad, Nov 18: Pakistan President Gen Pervez Musharraf Friday asked the survivors of last month’s earthquake to keep a vigilant eye on the extremists so as to check their designs if different from relief and recovery measures.
“If someone shows extremism here you should rise against it so that things move in your favour supportively,” he told them, at the end of interpretation of UN secretary general Kofi Annan’s brief address to survivors at Thuri camp.
His remarks were an obvious reference to some organisations carrying out relief and rescue operation in the quake hit region and known for their alleged links with the militants.
He asked the survivors if the extremists were helping them, they should accept their aid.
“You need not to bother who is coming here for your help and who is not. Whoever is helping you, he is welcome. But if someone has some other designs you people must stop them,” he said.
He told them that the government of Pakistan would utilise its all resources for their rehabilitation.
source: http://www.greaterkashmir.com
Quake aid essential to fight terrorism, says Musharraf
Web posted at: 11/16/2005 9:17:45
AFP
WASHINGTON: President Pervez Musharraf yesterday said aid to help his country recover from the October earthquake that killed nearly 74,000 people and left millions homeless was vital to fighting terror.
Asked on NBC television’s Today show whether increased aid from the United States would help Pakistan combat terrorism, Musharraf replied: "Yes it will.
“It will lend more credibility and strength to our decision that we took of backing the United States and being with the United States.”
“The people would understand that joining the coalition, fighting against terrorism, joining, supporting the United States against terrorism, were all correct decisions,” he said.
Pakistan plans to host a donors’ conference in Islamabad on Saturday to try to raise the billions of dollars it needs to help victims and to rebuild areas devastated by the October 8 quake.
Musharraf told NBC that $5.1bn in aid would be required, including $3.5bn for reconstruction.
The United States has given Pakistan, a key ally in its “war on terror,” $156m for the relief effort, and some 975 US military personnel are now taking part in relief operations there.
About two dozen US military helicopters have also been ferrying supplies and moving people around the area.
Musharraf said these Chinook helicopters have become “a household name, and everyone knows that the United States has provided this aid.”
Asked about Americans’ potential reluctance to help a country where Al Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden is believed to be hiding out, Musharraf told NBC: “It’s a failure of intelligence in not being able to identify where this man is. Most of the intelligence … is directly provided by the United States of America.”
“Whose failure is it? Is it Pakistan, or is it the United States, or is it a combined failure? Let’s not put blame on anyone,” he urged.
Source: www.greaterkashmir.com & AFP