Zardari admits Pakistan nurtured terrorism

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan, July 9 (UPI) -- Terrorist groups operating in the tribal frontier in northwest Pakistan were once considered strategic assets, Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari said.

Zardari in a series of interviews with the Daily Telegraph acknowledged that insurgent groups established in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas were once proxies for Islamabad, especially during the jihad against the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan.

"Let us be truthful to ourselves and make a candid admission of the realities," he said. "The terrorists of today were the heroes of yesteryears until 9/11 occurred and they began to haunt us as well."

He acknowledged the groups did not develop because of a weak central government, but from strategic decisions, noting they were "created and nurtured" to provide immediate gains in the region.

Zardari said groups such as Jaish-e-Mohammed and Lashkar-e-Toiba, now considered enemies of the state, were once viewed as "strategic assets."

Islamabad lawyers are challenging the decision by the Pakistani Supreme Court to free Hafiz Muhammad Saeed, who is believed to be a top official with LeT and linked to the November 2008 attacks in Mumbai.

The lone surviving gunmen in the Mumbai attacks, Mohammad Ajmal Amir Iman, told authorities he had met with Saeed during training for the operation.