Describing Pakistan's people and government as the ‘net losers’ of the situation arising out of the Mumbai attacks, President Asif Ali Zardari has said his country had put in "a lot of effort" for good relations with India, which were now witnessing heightened tensions. Pakistan needed real time intelligence from other countries to move faster against terrorists, he said adding that many of those now saying that they knew about the possibility of the Mumbai attacks never shared the information with Islamabad. "I've heard that the Russians told the Indians (about Mumbai attacks), but I wish the Russians had also shared it with us," Zardari said in an interview to 'Newsweek'. Asked whether he would do something if all terrorists involved in the Mumbai attacks were found to be trained in Pakistan, he replied, "definitely, not for them (Indians). It's for myself." "The Indians must understand that the government (of Pakistan) and the people of Pakistan are net losers of the situation. We had put in a lot of effort . to make good relations with India," Zardari said. He also rejected the suggestion that the ISI now had any links with Lashkar-e-Toiba, blamed for the Mumbai attacks. "We are talking about an age-old situation. This is something (that happened) in the old days when dictators used to run the country. May be before 9/11 (attacks in the US), that may have been a position. (But) since then, things have changed to a great extent," Zardari said. There is no supportive interaction between Pakistani intelligence and the LeT, which is a banned organisation in Pakistan, he claimed. Zardari insisted that Islamabad would not concede to the Indian demand that it hand over those suspected in the ‘horrific’ Mumbai attacks. The two countries do have that kind of relationship, he said, adding that such a decision has to be made by Parliament and not President. Zardari also said India has not shared all information about the terrorists being trained in Pakistan. He does not have "specific information" that all the terrorists who attacked Mumbai were trained in Pakistan because Indians have given ‘very little’ information, Zardari said. "I have offered to the Indians that we will do a joint investigation into Mumbai incident and if it leads anywhere, we will take action," he said. Zardari also denied that US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice had demanded that former ISI chief Hamid Gul, allegedly having links with Taliban and al-Qaeda, be arrested. "Hamid Gul is an actor who definitely is not in our good books. Hamid Gul is somebody who was never appreciated by our government," he said, adding, however, that Rice did not go into the specifics. Besides, Gul is not accused in the Mumbai incident and "I think he is more a political ideologue that a physical supporter," he said. Zardari parried the question whether Rice had demanded that Pakistan do something about the Mumbai attacks and arrest some people. "She is a friend and she knows Pakistan is a responsible state, and the Americans and the British know how much my government has done for this operation . against the terrorists since we've been in government," he said. Asked whether India has problem with its own Muslims, Zardari said he is not pointing fingers as he wants to improve relations with India. "I want to be a friend of India and a friend of the world and (a foe of terrorism) because I am victim myself," he said, referring to the assassination of his wife, former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto, in December last year. "There is always room for improvement on every side. There is room for the world to help me with the present situation in Pakistan, where poverty is a friend of the terrorists. I need to become economically better so I can employ these youths that (the terrorists) are employing," he said. Replying to a question, Zardari "totally denied" the ISI's involvement in the attack on the Indian embassy in Kabul in July this year. "No, we had no information from Americans," he replied when told that the US intelligence reportedly had evidence of the ISI's involvement in the bombing of the embassy. Those are "non-State actors," he said. To another question, the Pakistan President asserted that the country's army is under the "democratic government" and his administration maintains that intelligence agencies should have nothing to do with politics. "Since we are in government, we have had a stated position that ISI has no political role any more," he added.
