Pakistan's 'wrong policies' reason for global isolation: Pervez Musharraf

NEW DELHI: Even as Islamabad becomes an international pariah following the Uri terror attack, Pakistan's former Prime Minister Pervez Musharraf has blamed the Nawaz Sharif government's "wrong policies" for its global isolation, Dawn reported today.

While Islamabad's getting marginalized globally, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif is getting no love from his countrymen either, since India retaliated for the Uri attack by conducting surgical strikes on terrorist camps across the Line of Control (Loc) in Pakistan last Thursday.

Also last week, the SAARC summit, scheduled for November in Islamabad, was canceled, as Afghanistan, Bhutan, the Maldives, Sri Lanka, and, of course, India, pulled out citing cross-border terror attacks in the region.

Yesterday, cricketer-turned-politician Imran Khan blamed Sharif's "great love of money" for Pakistan being in the state it is currently. And Musharraf, too, alleged corruption in high places for the sorry state of underdevelopment in his country.

"It is astonishing that the government has taken and spent a loan of $35 billion but not a single beneficial mega project has been completed with that money. Instead, the people have been suffering because of the government's corruption," the retired army general said.

Of course, Musharraf also took the opportunity to criticize India for its "accusations" against Pakistan.

New Delhi, he said, is only good at hurling threats, and that if the Pakistani military decides to act on them the response will assume a far more practical form.

"India should realise that Pakistan is not Bhutan. India has a habit of levelling allegations against Pakistan each time there's an attack on its soil," he said.
Musharraf said he wanted to return to Pakistan to right all these wrongs but that he couldn't so that now as it "would be of no use."

"I have a problem in my backbone which is being treated. Coming back to Pakistan now will be of no use because I will not be allowed to move about freely."

He said he would return to the country once the cases initiated against him reached a logical conclusion.

The APML will take part in the elections of 2018, Musharraf confirmed.