Pakistan military will remain India-centric, says Hamid Gul

Terrorism in Pakistan is due to Kashmir, says former ISI chief

Troops of Pakistan's para military force display arms and ammunitions recovered during a crackdown operations against gangsters and outlaws in Karachi, Pakistan on Sunday, Aug. 8, 2010. Dozens of people have been killed in recent wave of violence in Karachi that was triggered by the killing of a legislator belonging to party in ruling coalition Muttahida Qaumi Movement. (AP Photo)

A former ISI chief credited with creating the Afghan Taliban, has said his country's Army will not change its India-centric policy unless the Kashmir issue is resolved.

“The kind of terrorism which is going on in Pakistan is due to Kashmir issue,” Hamid Gul, the former head of the Inter Services Intelligence who is believed to have created Kashmiri militants groups and finds frequent mention in the documents released recently by the whistle-blower site WikiLeaks, claimed in the CNN's Connect the World programme. “The second [reason] is because of the wrongful occupation of Afghanistan, by the allied forces, it's very wrongful,” he argued.

“So I think that proud nation is being really ravaged which is very wrong. So, this is the root cause — unless you address the root cause, you are not going to find the solution, as far as Pakistan's orientation towards India is concerned that is a reality, and Indians themselves are making it a reality,” General Gul claimed. “This is amazing that India continues to aim at Pakistan and considers it the enemy — Kashmir dispute is still going on; Kashmir movement is very much on the boil, and at this time it is expected that Pakistan should shift forces from the eastern border and transfer them to the western border — it is not possible, we don't have the resources,” he said.

The former ISI chief told the CNN that the Soviet occupation was wrong, and so is the American occupation.

“And that Afghan nation will not accept that position, Afghan nation has never accepted for past 5000 years, they won't accept it now. So I don't regret it at all, because at that time the whole world was with us. “I think then America should be the first to regret that adventure at that time,” he argued.

General Gul argued that there can be no peace in Afghanistan without Mullah Omar. “I think Mullah Omar has to be spoken to — that's very important — because without him no settlement in Afghanistan can take place. He symbolises the national resistance of Afghanistan against the occupation,” he said.