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Musharraf Not Sure of Support of New Resolution
Aired March 06, 2003 - 14:14 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf is not saying whether he'll support a new U.N. resolution on Iraq sponsored by the U.S., but he is talking about al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden, and where he might be.
CNN's Ash-Har Quraishi spoke with Mr. Musharraf and has more now from Islamabad. Good afternoon once again, Ash-Har.
ASH-HAR QURAISHI, CNN ISLAMABAD BUREAU CHIEF: Hello, Heidi. Well, that's right. We spoke with Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf just a short time ago.
He gave us his thoughts on the recent arrest of Khalid Shaikh Mohammed, a top al Qaeda operative that was picked up in the city of Rawalpindi here in Pakistan.
Now there has been speculation for months that Osama bin Laden might be hiding in the tribal belt along the western border of Pakistan where he might be crossing in and out of Afghanistan. That's been speculation for some time now.
But given that there have been high profile arrests of al Qaeda suspects in cities like Faisalabad, and Karachi, and now in Rawalpindi where Khalid Shaikh Mohammed was picked up, we posed the question to the president himself. Asked him that given that these men were found in some of the interior cities of Pakistan, is it possible that Osama bin Laden might be hiding in one of Pakistan's major cities. This is what he had to say.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PERVEZ MUSHARRAF, PRESIDENT OF PAKISTAN: Osama bin Laden is a different personality. He wouldn't be hiding alone, or with one other colleague of his in one room of a house and all that.
Certainly, he's a different person. I presume, if he's alive, which Oman (ph) thinks that now, with all the evidence and information we have that maybe he is alive, he would be moving with a large body of -- so many bodyguards.
So therefore, he would need a sanctuary, he would need a bigger area. He wouldn't be moving in a city where -- I don't think so. He would need a much bigger area, a safe area. Therefore, I don't think he can be in one of the cities like these people.
(END VIDEO CLIP) QURAISHI: Now, as far as the arrest of Khalid Shaikh Mohammed goes, the president said that it was a success not only for the war on terrorism, but especially for Pakistan's Inter-services Intelligence agency. He also said that they looked into the possibility that Khalid Shaikh Mohammed might know where bin Laden was in interrogations that were conducted jointly between the United States and Pakistan. He said that there was no indication that he did know.
He said his statements were inconsistent. He said that he didn't give any information as to whether or not Khalid Shaikh Mohammed said that Osama bin Laden was alive or not. He also didn't give any indication as to whether or not he had any contact with him.
But he also said that the interrogations were very preliminary, and that it is still possible that Khalid Shaikh Mohammed may be able to divulge some information about Osama bin Laden. Now, as far as the efforts are going here in Pakistan, President Musharraf said that the Inter-Services Intelligence agency here, in conjunction with the U.S. authorities, has stepped up its operations. They say they've reorganized their anti-terrorist unit, and that they are on alert, not only in the cities of Pakistan, but also monitoring the tribal belt on the western border -- Heidi.
COLLINS: All right. Ash-Har Quraishi, live from Pakistan.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Aired March 6, 2003 - 14:14 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf is not saying whether he'll support a new U.N. resolution on Iraq sponsored by the U.S., but he is talking about al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden, and where he might be.
CNN's Ash-Har Quraishi spoke with Mr. Musharraf and has more now from Islamabad. Good afternoon once again, Ash-Har.
ASH-HAR QURAISHI, CNN ISLAMABAD BUREAU CHIEF: Hello, Heidi. Well, that's right. We spoke with Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf just a short time ago.
He gave us his thoughts on the recent arrest of Khalid Shaikh Mohammed, a top al Qaeda operative that was picked up in the city of Rawalpindi here in Pakistan.
Now there has been speculation for months that Osama bin Laden might be hiding in the tribal belt along the western border of Pakistan where he might be crossing in and out of Afghanistan. That's been speculation for some time now.
But given that there have been high profile arrests of al Qaeda suspects in cities like Faisalabad, and Karachi, and now in Rawalpindi where Khalid Shaikh Mohammed was picked up, we posed the question to the president himself. Asked him that given that these men were found in some of the interior cities of Pakistan, is it possible that Osama bin Laden might be hiding in one of Pakistan's major cities. This is what he had to say.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PERVEZ MUSHARRAF, PRESIDENT OF PAKISTAN: Osama bin Laden is a different personality. He wouldn't be hiding alone, or with one other colleague of his in one room of a house and all that.
Certainly, he's a different person. I presume, if he's alive, which Oman (ph) thinks that now, with all the evidence and information we have that maybe he is alive, he would be moving with a large body of -- so many bodyguards.
So therefore, he would need a sanctuary, he would need a bigger area. He wouldn't be moving in a city where -- I don't think so. He would need a much bigger area, a safe area. Therefore, I don't think he can be in one of the cities like these people.
(END VIDEO CLIP) QURAISHI: Now, as far as the arrest of Khalid Shaikh Mohammed goes, the president said that it was a success not only for the war on terrorism, but especially for Pakistan's Inter-services Intelligence agency. He also said that they looked into the possibility that Khalid Shaikh Mohammed might know where bin Laden was in interrogations that were conducted jointly between the United States and Pakistan. He said that there was no indication that he did know.
He said his statements were inconsistent. He said that he didn't give any information as to whether or not Khalid Shaikh Mohammed said that Osama bin Laden was alive or not. He also didn't give any indication as to whether or not he had any contact with him.
But he also said that the interrogations were very preliminary, and that it is still possible that Khalid Shaikh Mohammed may be able to divulge some information about Osama bin Laden. Now, as far as the efforts are going here in Pakistan, President Musharraf said that the Inter-Services Intelligence agency here, in conjunction with the U.S. authorities, has stepped up its operations. They say they've reorganized their anti-terrorist unit, and that they are on alert, not only in the cities of Pakistan, but also monitoring the tribal belt on the western border -- Heidi.
COLLINS: All right. Ash-Har Quraishi, live from Pakistan.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
