Musharraf to face tough questions on terror during EU visit

ISLAMABAD: President Pervez Musharraf on Sunday embarked on a four-nation trip to Europe where he is expected to face tough questions from western leaders on the fight against terrorism that gained fresh spotlight with the arrest of 12 suspected Pakistani militants in Spain.
     
"The visit to Brussels, Paris, London and Davos is a wholesome package, with focus on improving Pakistan's image and removing certain misperceptions," Musharraf said at Chaklala military airbase before leaving for his eight-day visit.
      
Musharraf has been grappling with a sharp spurt in militancy with security forces failing to rein in pro-Taliban extremists in northwestern tribal areas that have unleashed suicide bombings targeting civilians and the military.
     
On the eve of his visit, the Spanish government announced the arrest of 12 Pakistani and two Indian members of a suspected Islamic terrorist cell that was plotting an attack in the north-eastern city of Barcelona. Also intelligence agencies reportedly warned four European countries, including UK and France which are in Musharraf's itinerary, against imminent terror attack.
     
"I am going to meet the foreign relations committee of the European Union, which is an important international player. We want to clear certain misperceptions of all the happenings in Pakistan and the region," Musharraf said.
      
The growing political uncertainty in the nuclear armed country, which was heightened by former premier Benazir Bhutto's assassination last month, has also drawn world attention. Bhutto's killing forced the government to put off the general election scheduled for January 8 by six weeks.
     
In response to a question, Musharraf said his visit was aimed at interacting with European Union leaders "to give them the correct perception of whatever has been happening in Pakistan and the region and also, of course, global issues and to project our viewpoint".
     
Asked about the 'image problem' faced by Pakistan, he said he will especially focus on improving the country's image in Europe and removing 'misgivings and misunderstandings' about Pakistan.
     
Musharraf said he was invited to address the annual World Economic Forum at Davos in Switzerland in his individual capacity.
     
Spanish interior minister Alfredo Perez Rubalcaba would not link the latest arrests with Musharraf's visit to Europe, but secret service sources told El Pais, a Spanish newspaper, that the new alert coincided with Musharraf's trip.
     
The source implied that the Spanish secret service National Intelligence Centre (CNI) had specific information on itinerant terrorists heading for the UK, France and Portugal.
     
A security official in London, however, said that he had no knowledge of any warning from Spain that an attack on Britain was imminent.
     
Spain was the scene of Europe's deadliest Islamist attack in March 2004 when four trains were bombed in Madrid, killing 191 commuters and injuring a further 1,800.
     
Barcelona and Madrid both have large Pakistani communities mainly involved in running restaurants and shops.
     
Musharraf said he has a lot of expectations from the visit, particularly with regard to 'image building' as he will be meeting French President Nicholas Sarkozy, the Prime Ministers of Britain and Belgium and members of the EU's foreign relations committee and interacting with think tanks, the expatriate community and media.
    
During a brief stopover in London before formally beginning his visit, Musharraf is expected to meet his old friend, Brig (retired) Niaz Ahmed, who has been in touch with PML-N president Shahbaz Sharif, who is also in the British capital.
     
Ahmed's meetings with Shahbaz have sparked speculation about Musharraf reaching out to the PML-N for a reconciliation, though both sides have denied such reports.
      
Musharraf was accompanied for the visit by members of the caretaker cabinet and senior officials. In Brussels, Musharraf will meet EU's foreign and security policy chief Javier Solana.
     
The President's engagements in Brussels will include talks with Belgian Prime Minister Guy Verhofstadt.
     
The President will visit France on January 21-22 and hold talks with President Sarkozy and address French business leaders. In Davos, Musharraf will attend the meeting of the World Economic Forum during January 23-25.
     
During his visit to Britain during January 26-28, Musharraf will meet Prime Minister Gordon Brown and also address the Pakistan community, business leaders and several think tanks.
       
Musharraf was seen off at the Chaklala airbase by caretaker Prime Minister Mohammedmian Soomro, National Assembly Speaker Chaudhry Amir Hussain, army chief Gen Ashfaq Parvez Kayani and senior officials.