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CNN Live Today

Pakistan Won't Aid U.S. In Attack Against Iraq

Aired September 02, 2002 - 11:02   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: You heard John mention that earlier today, chief international correspondent, Christiane Amanpour, spoke exclusively with Pakistani President General Pervez Musharraf about his decision.
And we want to get more from Christiane, who is live in Islamabad.

Good morning.

CHRISTIANE AMANPOUR, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Carol, we spoke to President Musharraf really about his assessment of the way things were going a year after he made that historic U-turn and joined the United States' war on terror after September 11.

He again committed himself to continuing to hunt down any al Qaeda that may be in Pakistan, and also to fighting Islamic militants here in Pakistan itself -- local Islamic militants, Pakistani Islamic militants.

He did, however, say, that even as John King said, whether Pakistan would have any military role is very unlikely, even if there were a coalition built, even if there were any military intervention into Iraq. Nonetheless, Pakistan is, right now, one of the United States key Muslim allies in this region.

And when we asked whether President Musharraf supported the notion of regime change in Iraq, he said that he would not like to be involved in anything like that at all. And he did say that he believed it would have a negative impact in the Muslim world, because it would be perceived as attack on Iraq.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PRES. PERVEZ MUSHARRAF, PAKISTAN: Osama bin Laden has not been found. I would say he may even be dead. But the leadership and the entire organization is in total disarray at the moment.

AMANPOUR (on camera): The U.S. has said that they may need to beef up the hunt for al Qaeda beyond Afghanistan. If they ask to put more troops here in Pakistan to search for al Qaeda, would you allow that?

MUSHARRAF: U.S. troops? No, I don't think that that would be wise at all. We are looking after all -- any foreign elements in Pakistan, and we have deployed a part of our army and the frontier corps for this purpose, and the United States knows what we are doing. We are fully involved in this act. We don't need assistance. We will ask for assistance if we require it. And really, I think our forces of capable of meeting whatever is required in Pakistan.

AMANPOUR: Do you expect some kind of attack against a Western target on September 11?

MUSHARRAF: One can't rule out the possibility. But again, one wouldn't like to put the entire onus on the door of al Qaeda again, because I don't think they are organized. But there is so much of whatever is happening in the Middle East has its own repercussions, and therefore, a possibility does exist. Certainly, one wouldn't rule it out.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

AMANPOUR: Well, that was President Musharraf talking about his commitment to the war on terror, saying, as you heard at the very beginning, that he thought that perhaps even Osama bin Laden may be dead.

Now, today, we have heard several conflicting reports. CNN has been reporting one al Qaeda-connected journalist has been saying that he believes that Osama bin Laden is alive. But frankly, no one, not even the president of Pakistan nor his intelligence people, have been able to tell us whether they have any evidence one way or another.

But you did hear him, also, talk about the possibility of some kind of trouble on the anniversary of September 11, because, he said, of the problems in the Middle East. And that was what was leading him into saying that he wouldn't support any military intervention on Iraq, and he thought that that would exacerbate the tensions and the feelings in the Middle East at this moment.

Back to you -- Carol.

COSTELLO: You know, there is always a concern about President Musharraf's safety in Pakistan. Security around him must be incredibly tight, especially with the elections coming up and the way he has changed the system now.

AMANPOUR: Well, indeed. In fact, his security has been beefed up. He has cut back on some of his public appearances, and he did admit that there have been threats to his life, because of his crackdown on Islamic militants. That has enraged Islamic militants.

Now, quite separately, the notion of returning Pakistan to democracy -- remember, he took over from a democratically-elected government back in 1999, saying that this was a corrupt government, and that he came in on sort of popular appeal, if you like -- but is now committed to returning it back to democracy.

But there is also the notion of these constitutional amendments that he has enacted, which on the face of it, look as if he is putting more power into the hands of the presidency. But he insists that what he is enacting are checks and balances on all layers of the political and the military class -- Carol.

COSTELLO: All right, Christiane Amanpour reporting live from Islamabad -- thank you very much.

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