28th OCTOBER BAL THACKERAY COMMENTS AGAINST PAK PREMIERS
'Evil eye' Asif Ali Zardari's prayers won't be answered: Bal Thackeray
MUMBAI: Ahead of Asif Ali Zardari's pilgrimage to the shrine of Khwaja Moinuddin Chishti in Ajmer, Shiv Sena chief Bal Thackeray today took a dig at the Pakistan President, wondering how could the prayers of those who have an "evil eye" on India could be answered.
Thackeray sought to remind Zardari, who is at the centre of a tense stand-off between the government and the judiciary over corruption charges, that his predecessor General Parvez lost power after a visit to the Sufi shrine.
"The place of worship is situated in India. How will prayers of those who who have an evil eye on our country be answered," Thackeray said in an editorial in party mouthpiece 'Saamana'.
Thackeray said the purpose of Zardari's visit was not to improve relations between the two countries or to take steps to stop "Pakistan-sponsored" terrorism on Indian soil.
"Zardari is facing corruption charges and prospects of imprisonment after he is forced to step down from office. There is severe anti-Zardari sentiment among the people of Pakistan.
"The last Pakistani leader to visit Ajmer Sharif was General Musharraf. After his visit, he lost power and had to leave his country," Thackeray said and advised him to think twice before setting foot in Delhi.
Zardari is arriving in New Delhi on Sunday on a "private visit" during which he will meet Prime Minister Manmohan Singh over lunch and pay obeisance at the shrine of the Khwaja, one of the most venerated in the country.
Warning for Zardari: Musharraf lost power after Ajmer Sharif visit, says Bal Thackeray
MUMBAI: Warning President Asif Ali Zardari to think twice before visiting India, Bal Thackeray sought to remind him that former president Pervez Musharraf lost power after his visit to the shrine in Ajmer Sharif.
“The last Pakistani leader to visit Ajmer Sharif was General Musharraf. After his visit, he lost power and had to leave his country,” Thackeray said.
According to a report published on The Economic Times website, Thackeray also doubted the possibility of Zardari’s prayers getting answered.
“The place of worship is situated in India. How will prayers of those who have an evil eye on our country be answered,” Thackeray was quoted in the report.
Zardari is due to visit India on Sunday where he will be the guest of the Indian premier in New Delhi before heading to Ajmer Sharif to offer prayers.
The Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani and Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar both clarified on the floor of the Parliament on Thursday that the President’s visit was private in nature and did not carry an official agenda. His lunch meeting with Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh was part of traditional courtesy, and the two nations were not expected to discuss official matters.
Musharraf equates Bal Thackeray with Hafiz Saeed
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NEW DELHI: Former Pakistan president Pervez Musharraf has equated 26/11 mastermind Hafiz Saeed with RSS and Shiv Sena and said those demanding action against the outlawed Jamaat-ud-Dawah chief in his country were toeing the Indian line.
He said Afghan and Kashmiri mujahideen were their heroes in the 1990s, but the situation has now changed while referring to Saeed "I do not want to discuss this (Saeed) issue,'' Musharraf shot back at his interviewer on a popular Pakistani TV channel on Saturday night. "Since India is going after this, we are also following them."
He then launched a tirade asking the interviewer to see what RSS was doing in India. "They do not play cricket with us. You saw what happened with (Pakistan cricket board chief) Shahryar Khan," he said. "The face of (ex-Pakistan foreign minister Khurshid Mahmud) Kasuri's book release organiser was blackened. Ghulam Ali's concert was banned and he was thrown out."
He cited PM Narendra Modi and his Cabinet's presentations to the RSS brass to draw a link between Shiv Sena's protests against Pakistan's and BJP's parent organisation.
"This is what is happening there. Are we catching any Sena leader? Was not Bal Thackeray a terrorist... did anybody catch him... a serving Army colonel was involved in the Samjautha blast in which 100 (sic) Pakistanis were killed. You are talking about Saeed, give us that Colonel," he said.
He cited Pakistan's support for the US-backed Afghan war and said the atmosphere changed after 1979 when Islamabad introduced religious militancy in its favour to throw the Soviets out. "We brought mujahideen from around the world. We trained the Taliban... and sent them in. They were our heroes. (Afghan warlord Jalaluddin) Haqqani is our hero of 1980s. Osama (bin Laden) was our hero. Yes, CIA's as well. (al-Qaida chief Ayman) al-Zawahiri was our hero," he acknowledged.
But he added that the atmosphere has changed now. "The hero has become a villain."
He said a similar thing was replicated in Kashmir in the 1990s. "A freedom struggle started there in the 1990s. They (Kashmiris) were killed badly. Indian Army killed them, they came to Pakistan. We gave them heroes' reception."
Musharraf acknowledged Pakistan trained and supported Kashmiri rebels. "They were mujahideen who would fight the Indian Army for their rights. LeT was formed along with 10-12 such groups," he said. He called these groups their heroes who were putting their lives at stake. "Now this has converted into terrorism."
He said Afghan and Kashmiri mujahideen were their heroes in the 1990s, but the situation has now changed while referring to Saeed "I do not want to discuss this (Saeed) issue,'' Musharraf shot back at his interviewer on a popular Pakistani TV channel on Saturday night. "Since India is going after this, we are also following them."
He then launched a tirade asking the interviewer to see what RSS was doing in India. "They do not play cricket with us. You saw what happened with (Pakistan cricket board chief) Shahryar Khan," he said. "The face of (ex-Pakistan foreign minister Khurshid Mahmud) Kasuri's book release organiser was blackened. Ghulam Ali's concert was banned and he was thrown out."
He cited PM Narendra Modi and his Cabinet's presentations to the RSS brass to draw a link between Shiv Sena's protests against Pakistan's and BJP's parent organisation.
"This is what is happening there. Are we catching any Sena leader? Was not Bal Thackeray a terrorist... did anybody catch him... a serving Army colonel was involved in the Samjautha blast in which 100 (sic) Pakistanis were killed. You are talking about Saeed, give us that Colonel," he said.
He cited Pakistan's support for the US-backed Afghan war and said the atmosphere changed after 1979 when Islamabad introduced religious militancy in its favour to throw the Soviets out. "We brought mujahideen from around the world. We trained the Taliban... and sent them in. They were our heroes. (Afghan warlord Jalaluddin) Haqqani is our hero of 1980s. Osama (bin Laden) was our hero. Yes, CIA's as well. (al-Qaida chief Ayman) al-Zawahiri was our hero," he acknowledged.
But he added that the atmosphere has changed now. "The hero has become a villain."
He said a similar thing was replicated in Kashmir in the 1990s. "A freedom struggle started there in the 1990s. They (Kashmiris) were killed badly. Indian Army killed them, they came to Pakistan. We gave them heroes' reception."
Musharraf acknowledged Pakistan trained and supported Kashmiri rebels. "They were mujahideen who would fight the Indian Army for their rights. LeT was formed along with 10-12 such groups," he said. He called these groups their heroes who were putting their lives at stake. "Now this has converted into terrorism."
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