Pakistan to Canada:
Stop griping about troop deaths
CANADA: Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf bluntly told Canadians
to stop complaining about the number of soldiers they were losing in
Afghanistan, saying Canada's death toll was far less than Pakistan's.
Canada has 2,300 troops based in the southern Afghan city of Kandahar.
In the last three months, 20 soldiers have been killed in clashes with
Taliban militants, prompting calls for the mission to be brought back
home.
Musharraf told the Canadian Broadcasting Corp. that if Canada was
worried about soldier fatalities, it should not be in the war-torn
country.
"When you get involved in places like Iraq or Lebanon or Afghanistan,
yes indeed you have to suffer casualties, and the nation must be
prepared to suffer casualties. So if you're not prepared to suffer
casualties as an army, then don't participate in any operation," he said
in an interview.
Since Canada joined the U.S.-led war on terror in late 2001, about 35
of its soldiers have died in Afghanistan. Musharraf, whose country
neighbors Pakistan, dismissed this as a mere handful.
"We have suffered 500 casualties. The Canadians have suffered four or
five. What are you talking about? Who are you talking to? Who are you
talking to? You are talking to the president of a country that has
suffered 500 casualties," he said.
"You have suffered two dead and there is crying and shouting all
around the place that there are coffins. Well, we've had 500 coffins."
Prime Minister Stephen Harper's chief spokeswoman said she was
unaware of the comments.
Musharraf also dismissed a suggestion by Canadian Defence Minister
Gordon O'Connor that Canadian troops might be based in Pakistan to help
the fight against militants.
"I can assure you our troops are more effective and we have more
experience of war. This (suggestion) shows a lack of trust in Pakistan,"
he said.
Ottawa, Wednesday Reuters
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