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American Morning

Interview of Benazir Bhutto, Former Prime Minister of Pakistan

Aired March 06, 2002 - 09:11   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.
PAULA ZAHN, CNN ANCHOR: The "Big Question" at this hour, is al Qaeda regrouping in Pakistan? Well, according to the "New York Times" this morning, U.S. officials have actually intercepted e-mail traffic from al Qaeda members indicating they are trying to regroup in remote parts of Pakistan near the Afghan border.

Now, from the outset, Pakistan has played a very critical role as a U.S. ally in the war on terror. And now for look at that relationship and today's news, the country's former prime minister, Benazir Bhutto, who joins us this morning. She now lives in self- imposed exile, and is currently in the U.S. on a speaking tour this morning. She joins us from Columbia, South Carolina.

It is an honor to have you join us. Welcome.

BENAZIR BHUTTO, FORMER PRIME MINISTER OF PAKISTAN: Thank you, Paula.

ZAHN: So Miss Bhutto, what is your reaction to this report that, potentially, al Qaeda members have regrouped in Pakistan?

BHUTTO: Well, there were concerns that this is what they do, in phase two. Phase one went very successfully. But I think in phase two, they are returning to Pakistan. This is where the original mujahideen movement took off, and I think that they will want to rely on the militant madrasas that were set up, some of their supporters and sympathizers in the administration, and elements within the military and intelligence. I think that they would try to get together in Pakistan and then make forays, once again, into southern Afghanistan.

ZAHN: What is clear for this report is that tribal leaders are providing sanctuary to these al Qaeda members, but you just said something that I think is really important to mention. You just mentioned the sympathizers in the administration. How much support are they getting, covertly, perhaps, from Pakistani government officials?

BHUTTO: I don't think they're getting it as a state of Pakistan, but I do think that they are getting it from sympathizers in the military, and in the intelligence, in the administration, in the religious schools. These are people in our administration who worked with and trained members of the Taliban and the al Qaeda. It's difficult for them to break off relationships and friendships formed over 20 years. People who were 30 would now be 50. People who were 20 would be 40. So, I think that what General Musharraf has to do is cleanse our federal and provincial government of any elements that have had experience of working in the former jihad against the Soviet Union.

ZAHN: But can he cleanse his government and still survive politically?

BHUTTO: Well, he do that if he reaches out to the democratic forces. He was brought into power by hard-line military generals. He removed the hard-line military generals, but he still kept their cabinets in place, and I think he really has to make a decision or he could fall between two stools (ph). I give you an example. The prime suspect in the Danny Pearl kidnapping and murder, Sheikh Omar, turned himself over to a chief law enforcement officer. In his previous incarnation, that chief law enforcement officer was actually a military official who had worked very closely with the Afghan jihad and militancy. It's these relationships that need to be broken.

ZAHN: Do you have faith that President Musharraf will make these changes that you're talking about?

BHUTTO: General Musharraf says that he wants to make these changes, but unless he's able to reach out to the moderate democratic political forces who can strengthen the war against terror, I remain doubtful about his ability to deliver. Let us give him the benefit of the doubt. He means what he says, but can he actually deliver on the ground? We need public support for that, we need the support of officials who are committed to a particular geo-strategic vision, and I don't see that yet.

ZAHN: Let's come back to the issue of this main suspect in Danny Pearl's kidnapping. It now appears that Pakistan has decided against any immediate release of him or potential extradition. What does that signify to you?

BHUTTO: Well, I think Islamabad was in a difficult situation. Sheikh Omar has confessed to the kidnapping of Danny Pearl. Danny was an American citizen, and I think America will want the person who murdered Danny Pearl. Pakistan is America's ally, and Pakistan, ultimately, is going to have accede to Washington's request. On the other hand, I think that military hard-liners are worried that if Sheikh Omar is extradited, he is going to start spilling the beans about what has been going on in militancy, and ties between officials within my country and Taliban and al Qaeda.

So I think there's a lot of pressure on Musharraf not to hand over the prime suspect. But there is the counter pressure that if he's in the war against terror, he is going to have to tell people who carry out acts of terror that you can end up in a foreign country.

ZAHN: I wanted to close off the interview this morning by having you react to some of the latest volley of fire coming from Pakistan's ambassador to the U.S., Maleeha Lodhi, and this is what she had to say about reports that were published suggesting that a nuclear scientist may have actually met with Osama bin Laden and later lied about it. Here is what the ambassador said. She said -- quote -- actually, we actually have her saying this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MALEEHA LODHI, PAKISTANI AMBASSADOR TO THE UNITED STATES: Pakistan, as you know, is a nuclear capable state, but you also know that Pakistan has an impeccable record in custodial controls for nuclear safety and security. And this impeccable record means that there hasn't been a single incident to date of any kind of nuclear theft, nuclear leakage of nuclear material, or anybody gaining access -- unauthorized access to our nuclear capability and nuclear materials.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ZAHN: Miss Bhutto, how vulnerable do you think Pakistan's cache of nuclear materials is?

BHUTTO: I think that the ambassador is quite correct in saying that we haven't had any exposure of any mishandling of our control and command centers, but I'm still concerned. I remember when I was prime minister of Pakistan, there was an attempt to have one of our chief nuclear scientists kidnapped and taken to an Arab country. We found out about it, and we stopped it. And, of course, the fact that there were nuclear scientists working in Kabul under the guise of an NGO, is extremely dangerous, and I think it's a matter of deep concern. The World Trade Center disaster, the inhuman attacks, led to a lot of tension in the world. God forbid, God forbid if there's a dirty bomb that goes on, we could actually end up at the clash of civilization that these militants want.

ZAHN: Benazir Bhutto. It is an honor to have you join us on "American Morning." Thank you very much for your time.

BHUTTO: Thank you, Paula.

ZAHN: Benazir Bhutto, of course, the former prime minister of Pakistan.

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