Former Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf, who hopes to retake his country's leadership in the 2013 polls, has called the US move to suspend $800 million of military aid to Pakistan "disastrous" and said it was not in the best interest of the two countries.
"Certainly it will be disastrous," Musharraf told an audience at Rice University in Houston, US.
"It is not in the best interest of Pakistan but also not in the best interest of the United States. If Pakistan is weakened how do we fight terrorism? We are weakening the country and the army," Musharraf said.
Musharraf's presentation, "Pakistan: A Reality Check," took place in Baker Hall on the Rice University campus on Monday. He spoke about his vision for Pakistan's future, based on his call for "enlightened moderation" in which the country would shun extremism and embrace socio-economic liberalisation in return for fair and dignified treatment by the rest of the world.
The relationship between the two countries began to fray in 1989, after the US withdrew from Afghanistan when Soviet forces were defeated there, leaving Pakistan to contend with a neighbouring state filled with thousands of religious fighters "armed to the teeth who know nothing else but fighting," he said.
It soured further, Musharraf said, with sanctions placed on Pakistan in response to its nuclear weapons programme.
Recent drone attacks and the killing of Osama bin Laden on the Pakistani soil have intensified the disintegration of relations,
Pak EC postpones decision on Musharraf's APML
How India can solve its energy crisis
'Osama was a murderer, he received his sentence'
Musharraf's former aide-de-camp commits suicide
Osama maintained 'phenomenal security' at Abbottabad hideout