Musharraf equates Bal Thackeray with Hafiz Saeed

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 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." - Read More at the timesofindia
Musharraf equates Bal Thackeray with Hafiz Saeed

Pakistan supported, trained terror groups: Musharraf - The ...

Pakistan supported, trained terror groups to carry out militancy in Kashmir: Pervez Musharraf