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CNN Sunday Morning

Musharraf Addresses Terrorist Attacks in Speech

Aired August 18, 2002 - 07:32   ET

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

CATHERINE CALLAWAY, CNN ANCHOR: At an independence day speech this past week, Pakistan's president said that Islamic militants, who recently killed Christians in his country are "misled criminals." Those attacks were apparently in protest to Pakistan's cooperation with the U.S. in the war on terrorism. President Pervez Musharraf finds himself in a delicate political situation because of that cooperation.
Let's go now to CNN's Islamabad bureau chief Ash-har Quraishi, who's joining us from Karachi, Pakistan this morning.

Thanks for being with us, Ash-har. You know, just curious about what this...

ASH-HAR QURAISHI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Catherine.

CALLAWAY: Just curious about what the situation there is now on the streets in Pakistan. Have things changed in recent weeks? With the two attacks that we just spoke of?

QURAISHI: Well, you've got to take it, you know, into consideration as to where you are. In Karachi here, where we are, things have definitely changed, especially since the bombing outside of the U.S. consulate here in Karachi in which 12 people were killed. Now there's heavy security surrounding this city. And this city actually came into prominence also with the Daniel Pearl case as well. So security has been an issue in this city for some time. These days, we see gunners atop armored vehicles. We see the rangers, Pakistani rangers, and police. Their presence is pretty much felt all over the city, and especially in areas like the U.S. consulate and other diplomatic missions as well.

But what we're seeing with these latest attacks is that a turn towards more softer targets, like the Murray Christian School, as well as that hospital in Pakula (ph), where security is not so heavy. So that's something that the investigators, as well as police and security firms are looking into in terms of how they're supposed to fortify these softer targets, as opposed to targets like the U.S. consulate, where there are more precautions taken than at these other places.

CALLAWAY: Now the consulates sent home their personnel and closed operations there. But it has -- security still has to be a concern for just about all the foreign nationals there.

QURAISHI: Indeed, we have seen obviously the alerts from the United States. The State Department has renewed its advisory to the U.S. citizens traveling to Pakistan, as well as those citizens that are remaining in this country. We spoke to a family, however, a foreign national family from Canada, who said that they're staying regardless of what happens here. They've been living in Pakistan for 12 years. And they did leave Pakistan before because of security concerns. But mostly because of pressure from family and friends back home, less for how they felt here in the country. And they say they're not going to leave.

So there are those people who are leaving, but there are also people, foreign nationals, Americans, who are staying. So it really depends on why they're here in Pakistan and what they feel about this country.

CALLAWAY: Ash-har, how have things changed for you, since you've been there? I can imagine, do you feel any more secure with the forces that are now on the streets there in Karachi?

QURAISHI: Well, it's tough to say. I mean, really, if you really think about it, a lot of the events -- they get a lot of attention in the media, obviously, when they happen. But most of the time, Pakistan is relatively quiet. And that's one thing that gives some people sort of a false sense of security is that they forget that they have to be aware of their surroundings at all times, but that is something that you really have to be aware of anywhere you are in the world.

I mean, there are certain parts of New York, certain parts of Los Angeles or Chicago that you just don't want to be walking around at, at night. And it's the same way here in Karachi, as well as in other places around the country. But yes, there is a sense that you have to be a little bit more careful these days, especially if you are somebody who sticks out, a foreign national, or somebody who just doesn't blend in with the general crowd.

CALLAWAY: All right, thank you. That's Ash-har Quraishi, joining us from Karachi in Pakistan. Thanks, Ash-har.

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