'Afghan prez, govt under Indian intel's influence'

Acknowledging that there is 'an ingress of the Inter Services Intelligence in every terrorist group', former Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf has alleged that Afghanistan is under the influence of Indian intelligence agencies and he has documentary evidence against it.

"Afghan intelligence, Afghan president, Afghan government…don't talk of them. I know what they do. They are, by design, they mislead the world. They talk against Pakistan, because they are under the influence of Indian intelligence, all of them," Musharraf told CNN in an interview on Sunday.

"The Afghan intelligence (is) entirely under the influence of Indian intelligence. We know that," Musharraf said when asked whether Taliban leader Mullah Omar is currently in Pakistan's Quetta.

"Whatever I am saying, I am not saying it here (for the first time). I have given documentary evidence of all this to everyone. There is the documentary evidence. And we know the involvement of Indian intelligence," alleged Musharraf.

"I have given documentary evidence to everyone from top to bottom. Everyone knows it. And we have the documentary evidence," the former Pakistan army chief said. Musharraf also denied reports and statements by United States leaders, which claim that the ISI still has contacts with Taliban-backed terrorists.

"They (ISI) will not support it (terrorists). That was not the government policy. That was not the military policy. However, there was ingress," he said.

"Always, in every group, there is an ingress of the ISI. And that is the efficiency, the effectiveness of the ISI. You must have ingress, so that you can influence all organisations. And it is this ingress of theirs, which doesn't mean that they are supporting them, but they have ingress. They have some contacts, which can be used for their own advantage," Musharraf said.

He admitted that "Foreign troops are not welcome there (in Afghanistan). But now that they are there, we have to win. And quitting is not an option at all," he said.

"Anyone who is talking of quitting doesn't understand the ramifications of quitting. He must sit down and analyse what will happen if he were to quit there without a solution. We have to defeat the Al Qaeda, we have to dominate the Taliban, and we have to introduce a credible, legitimate government in Afghanistan. But we cannot leave before that," he said.

The former military ruler also denied reports that Taliban leader Mullah Omar is in Pakistan and runs the Quetta Shura from there.

"That is absolutely, 200,000 per cent wrong," he said. "Mullah Omar will not be there. I am 100 per cent sure. He cannot be there, because he would be mad to be there. Because they control the south-eastern part of Afghanistan. Most of it is under the control of Taliban," he said.

"Now, if I am the leader of the Taliban, and I'm controlling any area, why would I endanger myself to go to another place where there is an army and Frontier Corps, and American intelligence is also operating there? Why would I like to go there? Why don't I stay with my own area," he asked.

"In any case, he has never been in Pakistan -- Mullah Omar, in those years of fighting against the Soviets, or before that. He is known to have been in Pakistan as a teenager, in some madrassa. He has never come to Pakistan (after that). So, why would he be there," Musharraf asked.