Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf has reiterated the need for a deterrent against India in the event of the balance of power in conventional weapons shifting significantly in New Delhi's favour and Pakistan feels its security is threatened.
In an interview to Ted Koppel, who hosts Nightline on ABC News, Musharraf said even though he did not expect US President George W Bush to agree to provide F-16 fighter aircraft, such weaponry would have helped alleviate the conventional weapons superiority that India currently enjoys.
"I didn't expect anything on the F-16s really. I knew what the response would be. But we did talk about F-16s. I did tell the President (George W Bush) that you just cannot avoid the issue of F-16s whenever you meet any Pakistani in the street."
Musharraf, who met with Bush at Camp David on Tuesday morning for 90 minutes, said the reason the F-16s issue was so important to Pakistan was because "we had paid the money and therefore were morally on a stronger footing. We deserved to get the F-16s."
"The other issue is really the conventional balance in the region. My personal concern is that we must maintain conventional balance in the region for better security and safety in the region."
While not denying the argument he has used in the past that if Pakistan cannot match India's conventional weapons, the likelihood is greater that under certain circumstances Pakistan may have to use nuclear weapons, Musharraf said, "No sane person can really think or get involved in a... even the possibility of the use of unconventional means."
"But certainly yes, my concern is that gradually India is trying to tilt the conventional balance in its favor. This can be dangerous. Therefore the world must realise that the minimum strategic defence or deterrent capability that Pakistan always maintained must be ensured at all times."
Musharraf also acknowledged that President Bush had requested Pakistan to provide at least two brigades or about 6,000 to 8,000 peacekeeping troops to stabilise the situation in Iraq.
"In principle, we did agree, but we are looking at the modalities," he said adding Pakistan could comfortably provide about 8-10,000 troops, but that Islamabad would rather do so under the cover of the United Nations, or the Organisation of Islamic States, or the Gulf Cooperation Council.
"It is a cause of concern. The issue is the perception of the Muslim world," he said referring to the problem of Pakistan (an Islamic State) sending troops to fight alongside American troops in another Muslim country.
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