Musharraf rejects U.S. action on militants
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Pakistan might welcome U.S. assistance in a military strike against al Qaeda, President Pervez Musharraf said in an interview aired on Sunday, but he rejected the idea of a unilateral U.S. decision to send troops into his country after militants.
"Whatever intelligence we get on the terrorists, we jointly think of what kind of action is possible and whatever assistance we can get," Musharraf, a key U.S. ally in the region, said on CNN's Late Edition.
"But it is the Pakistan forces who act ... the prerogative must remain with Pakistan," he said in the interview, which was taped on Saturday.
Musharraf balked at a recent statement by U.S. President George W. Bush, who said he would send U.S. forces after Osama bin Laden or other senior militants in Pakistan if he had reliable intelligence.
"Frankly, I don't agree with that," Musharraf said, speaking from the Pakistani city of Rawalpindi.
Musharraf, who called Bush a "great personal friend," has been under intense international scrutiny since he declared emergency rule in early November, suspending the constitution and deposing judges who threatened his political future.
Pakistan is expected to hold a general election on January 8.
Musharraf cited the growing threat of Islamist militants in nuclear-armed Pakistan for his emergency declaration.
Washington wants to see a stable Pakistan which might stamp out the al Qaeda or pro-Taliban militants who many believe are hiding in remote regions along the border with Afghanistan and fomenting violence there.
Musharraf defended his country's efforts to hunt down militants, and said his country did not bear all the blame.
Militants "may get support from Pakistan, they may come into Pakistan and get some chance to live here, hide here, recuperate here and go back. But the real support, the real backbone of everything that is happening there is in Afghanistan, not in Pakistan," he said.
Musharraf also defended his recent actions, and scolded those outside Pakistan who he said do not grasp the enormity of the country's problems.
"They appear to be thinking that in the developing countries there is no law and there is all dictatorship ... just somebody at the head just passes orders," he said.
"Please understand us. We are fighting the terrorists here. Do not destabilize Pakistan. You will regret it," he said.
Asked whether rivals Nawaz Sharif and Benazir Bhutto, both former prime ministers, would be allowed to run in next month's vote, Musharraf said it was up to election officials.
"Neither will I allow nor will I disallow. There is a legal process which will take place," he said.
(Reporting by Missy Ryan, editing by Vicki Allen)
