The Al-Qa’ida terror organization working from Pakistan is unable to plan attacks outside the country, reports the Pakistani daily The Nation, following a press conference with President Pervez Musharraf.
According to Musharraf, Al-Qa’ida is now a worldwide phenomenon, but it is not strong enough in Pakistan to orchestrate attacks abroad, such as the recent bombings in London and Sharm A-Sheikh.
The British police force is investigating the involvement of Britons of Pakistani origin in the London bombings. The Egyptians are also reporting they are searching for six Pakistani suspects in connection with Saturday’s attacks in Sharm A-Sheikh. Nevertheless, Musharraf says his country has broken the back of Al-Qa’ida and captured more than 700 Islamists loyal to Osama Bin Laden.
“It has no command structure originating from Pakistan, with the ability to convey messages to the whole world… under total coordination of one commander,” said Musharraf.
Stressing his nation’s complete independence of external pressures, the Pakistani president also said his country’s nuclear program was “moving 10 times faster than before,” and that there was no external pressure on its leadership to roll it back.
“Our nuclear and missile programs are heading fast in the right direction, and we would not succumb to any pressure on this count,” the president said while briefing journalists on Monday.