ISLAMABAD, 3 April 2005 — Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf said yesterday the army did not interfere in political matters and that the prime minister and his Cabinet decided on matters of national interest.

Speaking at a function in Quetta to mark the centenary of the Command and Staff College here, the president said the country’s defense was in strong hands and its forces are fully capable to answer any misadventures, Online news agency reported.

He said there would be no compromise on the country’s defense needs and every possible measure would be taken to make Pakistan impregnable. The president said that he only keeps a check while Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz and his Cabinet can take their decisions independently. Musharraf clearly stated that no compromise would be made on the defense of the country even if the resources would be scarce. Admitting that the air force and navy faced problems, Musharraf said all efforts would be made to procure the latest equipment for them.

He said that the policy of minimum deterrence in conventional and non-conventional weapons was being implemented. He said Pakistan believed in peaceful coexistence with its neighbors and had no aggressive designs against anyone.

Musharraf said that a wrong perception prevailed internationally that “Pakistan is an extremist state, we must prove this perception wrong.”

He said that our country is against extremism and terrorism and we must prove that our Pakistan is a moderate country.

The president said more stringent measures must be taken against extremists and terrorists. He said to counter misperception against Pakistan sports, tourism and culture must be promoted. He said that Pakistan has an important place in the world community and Muslim Ummah and it has stable relations with France, Germany, China and several other nations.

Aged Kashmiri Wants to Drive First Bus

Undaunted by threats from insurgents, 83-year-old Noor Ali Kiyani is hoping to drive the first bus to link the Indian and Pakistani capitals of divided Kashmir in more than 50 years, scheduled next week.

“I would love to drive the bus.... I want to see my old friends in Srinagar,” Kiyani said yesterday, referring to the summer capital of India’s Jammu-Kashmir state.

Speaking from his home in Chinari, a village in Pakistani-controlled Kashmir, Kiyani said he was not scared of rebels, who have threatened to attack the bus service slated to start on Thursday.

Kiyani had worked for one of the bus services that had plied the 170-km road between Muzaffarabad, the capital of Pakistani Kashmir, and Srinagar. — Input from Indo-Asian News Service.