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Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf dodged the topic of Sept. 11 at his speech on Pakistan's development in the Marvin Center's Betts Theatre Friday afternoon.
Musharraf's speech comes a day after the report of a soon-to-air CBS program in which he alleged the U.S. threatened to bomb his country if it did not join the U.S in the war on terror. His comments are scheduled to air in a "60 Minutes" interview Sunday. Since Sept. 11, President George W. Bush has referred to Pakistan as an ally in the war on terror.
Musharraf avoided the topic when pressed by a student in the question and answer session after his speech.
"I'm launching my autobiography...so I'm not allowed to talk about it," Musharraf said. "You'll have to buy the book and read it."
Musharraf said that an agreement with Simon and Schuster, the New York-based publisher of his autobiography, "In the Line of Fire," prevented him from disclosing his interactions with Bush after Sept. 11.
"We joined the war on terror not really for the world but for ourselves," he said. "Pakistan is a modern, progressive society. It happens to be in the interest of Pakistan. We are onboard with the free world to fight terrorism."
Musharraf focused his address on the topic of democratizing Pakistan and his successes as its president.
"Let me assure you that I'm the greatest believer in democracy," Musharraf said. "Unfortunately,...there was no democracy. I have introduced democracy in Pakistan."
"Democracy means empowerment of the people...I have empowered the people at a grassroots level," Musharraf continued.
He noted that in his government, minorities and women have been empowered politically and financially and that the press has also been "liberated" with more than 40 independent television stations now in the country.
