BELGIUM: Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf continues his Brussels visit. Holds meeting with Solana. Rejects criticism he's not doing enough to fight Taliban

Record ID: 739373

  • Title: BELGIUM: Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf continues his Brussels visit. Holds meeting with Solana. Rejects criticism he's not doing enough to fight Taliban
  • Date: 13th September 2006
  • Summary: (W3)BRUSSELS, BELGIUM (SEPTEMBER 13, 2006) (REUTERS) EXTERIOR EUROPEAN COUNCIL PAKISTAN PRESIDENT PERVEZ MUSHARRAF AND EU FOREIGN POLICY CHIEF JAVIER SOLANA SHAKING HANDS AND WALKING TO PODIUM MUSHARRAF AND SOLANA POSING FOR CAMERAS PHOTOGRAPHERS MUSHARRAF AND SOLANA AND DELEGATION WALKING AWAY
  • Embargoed: 28th September 2006 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Belgium
  • Country: Belgium
  • Topics: International Relations
  • Reuters ID: LVA45EXL3Y9YVWOOU429ALQVIEJ4
  • Story Text: Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf met EU Foreign Policy Chief Javier Solana on Wednesday (September 13) on the second day of his Brussels visit which he used to warn the West that Taliban insurgents were more dangerous terrorist force than al Qaeda because of the broad support they have in Afghanistan.
    Musharraf has defended his commitment to counter-terrorism in the face of some critical questioning from lawmakers in the European Parliament who also took him to task on human rights and restrictions on political opponents.
    He won support though from the European Union's executive Commission, which praised Pakistan's help in foiling terrorist plots and pledged a "substantial" increase in development funds for education and rural development from next year.
    Speaking on Tuesday at the European Parliament, five years after al Qaeda's 9/11 attacks on the United States and the subsequent U.S. invasion of Afghanistan to topple the Taliban, Musharraf told EU lawmakers Taliban fighters had regrouped in southern Afghanistan.
    Musharraf said he was certain Taliban fighters were being commanded by former Taliban ruler Mullah Omar from a base in southern Afghanistan, where NATO troops are struggling to contain an insurgency.
    Musharraf urged the world to do more to rebuild Afghanistan and later after meeting European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso called on the European Union to grant greater market access for Pakistani products.
    European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso on Tuesday praised Pakistan for helping foil the British airline bomb plot in August and said the two sides had agreed to step up ties, although he gave no figure for the enhanced aid.
    Barroso also said Musharraf had given "encouraging signals" regarding a readmission agreement the Commission has been seeking for illegal migrants.
    Musharraf strongly rejected criticism, during the Barroso news conference, that Pakistan was not doing enough to prevent the Taliban from mounting attacks on NATO troops by infiltrating its porous borders with Afghanistan.
    "I take very strong exception to anyone who ever says that we haven't done enough. We are a country which has employed 80,000 troops fighting al Qaeda and Taliban. We are a country who has suffered 400, over 400 casualties. Which other country is doing more than us? So I take strong exception to anyone who says we are not doing enough," he said.
    Among the critics of Musharraf in the European parliament were British conservatives, who accused him of putting the lives of British troops in Afghanistan at risk by failing to be tough enough on extremists based in Pakistan.
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