Oslo: Exclusive Interview by Overseas Tribune
Former President Pervez Musharraf has asked the government of Pakistan to make country’s better abroad.
In an exclusive interview with Overseas Tribune Executive Editor Syed Sibtain Shah, he said, government is not fulling its responsibility on foreign policy.
Musharraf is currently visiting Oslo, the Norwegian capital on invitation of Pakistan Union Norway led Ch Qamar Iqbal in order to participate in Pakistan’s Day celebration in the country.
He said, it is duty of sitting government to take steps for making the foreign policy effective but unfortunately the policy is being run with out foreign minister for a long time. Our government does not know where is world standing and where is Muslim’s Ummah.
The former president also talked about purpose of his visit and said, he has been invited by Mr Qamar Iqbal, chairman Pakistan Union Norway. Mr Qamar Iqbal also explained about program of his organisation to be held on 19th August 2017 in Norway which is connection with Pakistan’s independence day.
General (retired) Musharraf also deliver a lecture in Oslo on the different international issues. About current situation of the world, he said, With Soviet’s invasion on Afghanistan and then Soviet disintegration, strategic centre has been shifted Europe centric to South Asia. Specifically it is centric of Indo-Pakistan dispute and Afghanistan and Middle East.
He said, in the changing world, the US concerns in the cold war period was containment of communism but after the collapsed of USSR, It has changed now containment of China. Through, denial of China to Indian occasion. South East and East Asia are the emerging economic power houses of the future. Economic powers are shifting gradually from Europe to east and South East Asia.
He also talked about globalization and said, it is because people are shifting from poor countries of Asia and Africa Europe. Even with the emerging European Union, east Europeans shifted to Western Europe.
Musharraf said, recently civil war in Middle East also caused massive population came to Europe. All this given rise of right wing political forces in the western world. He gave example of such changes in US, UK, Holland and France as indicators of nationalism as result of globalization.
About the Muslim world, he said, most of the Muslim world was colonized in last two centuries but most of them got freedom after Second World War. The Muslim countries were mostly backward. We were ethnically fragmented and polarized society. Divided in to many of ethnic groups. West leaded us to democratization. Today, the turmoil is mostly in the Muslim world. About new powers, he said, now the uni-polar world is changing into multi polar world. He explained that new poles are china, Russia, EU was also an emerging power but Brexit caused a dent in its power. South Asia is also facing total turmoil because of Kashmir dispute between India and Pakistan. Genocide is going in Kashmir. Therefore, turmoil is there. There is also instability in the context of relations between Afghanistan and Pakistan.
