Resolve Palestinian issue to defeat Al Qaeda: Musharraf

Asserting that issues of Kashmir and Palestine were "ripe for solution", Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf has said that resolution of the Middle-East conflict will help defeat Al Qaeda as it was the "real provocation" for radical Muslims to opt for terrorism.

• PM at the UN

Musharraf said that while the Iraq war had made the world complicated, it was not possible for the United States to just "pack up and go" and the world should move on to other issues.

"It has happened so why talk about it. It is done and finished. You cannot just pack up and go. You need to have a strategy," he was quoted as saying by the Pakistani media during an interactive session at Columbia University on Friday.

• The Gulf War II

Musharraf said Palestine and Kashmir disputes would require boldness, sincerity and flexibility on party of the leadership.

Praising US President George W Bush, Musharraf said Bush had the capacity to resolve the complex global issues, such as Palestine, which he believed was the real provocation for some radical elements amongst the Muslim countries to opt for terrorism.

Musharraf said he was confident that a just solution for the Palestine issue would eventually help complete the defeat of Al Qaeda and similar organisations.

Musharraf said Pakistan's rapprochement with Israel was aimed at facilitating the speedy resolution of the Palestine problem and added, no previous government had ever dared taking such "bold steps" for engaging Israel.

Musharraf said Pakistan was at the "epicenter" of the fight against terrorism and extremism.

He heaped praise on Pakistan Inter Services Intelligence, saying that it played a big role in anti-Al Qaeda operations.

The Pakistani president categorically denied that during official meetings, the US or the British leaders ever pointed an accusing finger at the ISI and described its personnel as "unsung heroes who have helped the capture of more than 700 Al Qaeda operatives."

He said Pakistan to a great extent got affected by the mayhem and chaos in Afghanistan. "Mujahideen who fought Russians in Afghanistan  later turned into Al Qaeda," the president said.