London: The first excerpts from Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf’s memoir In the Line of Fire make startling revelations about America’s war on terror.
News agency AFP, quoting excerpts carried in the The Times on Monday, says the Central Intelligence Agency paid Pakistan millions of dollars for handing over more than 350 suspected al-Qaeda terrorists to the United States.
Musharraf does not say how much Pakistan was paid for the 369 Al-Qaeda suspects he ordered should be handed over to the US, the newspaper said, noting, however, that such payments are banned by the US government.
The newspaper does not, however, print or quote the excerpts which make the allegations.
Musharraf’s claims come a week after he told CBS news that former deputy secretary of state Richard Armitage had threatened to bomb Pakistan “back to the stone age” if it did not back the United States in the war on terror in the aftermath of the September 11, 2001 attacks.
CIA refused to comment on the new allegation.
Musharraf writes that he was so angered by American demands after September 11 attacks, which he calls "ludicrous", that he "war-gamed the United States as an adversary."
"There would be a violent and angry reaction if we didn't support the United States," an excerpt from his book reads.
"The question was: if we do not join them, can we confront them and withstand the onslaught? The answer was no". He said that two days after the attacks, the US Ambassador to Pakistan Wendy Chamberlain brought to him a set of seven demands including "blanket overflight and landing rights" and "use of Pakistan's naval ports, air bases, and strategic locations on borders".
Musharraf said Pakistan gave no "blanket permission" for anything. The military leader also says that he decided to make the revelations to counter claims that Pakistan had not done enough to combat Al-Qaeda in the war on terror.
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