DUBAI, (INP): Former president General (retd) Pervez Musharraf has disclosed he received financial assistance from Abdullah Bin Abdulaziz al Saud of Saudi Arabia in 2009 to purchase apartments in Dubai and London.
\nThe former president said he was given the financial assistance because \u201cKing Abdullah was like a brother\u201d to him. The claim came during an interview with a private news channel. However, Musharraf did not delve into further details saying it was a \u201cprivate affair\u201d.
\nExplaining his relations with the late King Abdullah, Musharraf said, they had good family relations and King Abdullah considered him \u201cone of his own\u201d. \u201cI was the only one who he used to smoke in front of,\u201d he added.
\n\u201cWhenever there were banquets, I used to go to his swimming pool area and his inner quarters,\u201d he added. Musharraf also recalled that once when an OIC meeting was held in Makkah, King Abdullah, himself, took him inside the Holy Kaaba to offer prayers.
\n\u201cHe [King Abdullah] respected me and he loved me,\u201d the former president added.
\nThe former military ruler further said he didn\u2019t purchase properties while being in power in Pakistan. \u201cI would be held accountable if I made any property during my tenure as president. But when I went abroad in 2009, I established all the property I own in my individual capacity,\u201d he said.
\nSpeaking about Jamaatud Dawa chief Hafiz Saeed\u2019s house arrest, Musharraf said, \u201cWe\u2019re confused regarding JuD and Hafiz Saeed like we [as a nation] are confused about terrorism.\u201d
\n\u201cThe only reason India is against them [JuD] is because their supporters go to fight the Indian army voluntarily in Indian-held Kashmir,\u201d he added.
\nHe further stated, \u201cIn my opinion they [JuD] are against the Taliban in Pakistan and they have not committed terrorism in Pakistan or anywhere in the world, so they should be dealt with in a separate manner.\u201d
\nMusharraf added, \u201cHafiz Saeed should definitely be freed as they [JuD] are not terrorists and are in fact running a welfare organisation which is involved in post relief activities, during flood and earthquakes for the people of Pakistan.\u201d
\nThe supporters and workers of JuD have been engaging the religious youth in welfare and relief activities and they could incline towards the Taliban if we call them terrorists and try to lock them up, he added.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
DUBAI, (INP): Former president General (retd) Pervez Musharraf has disclosed he received financial assistance from Abdullah Bin Abdulaziz al Saud of Saudi Arabia in 2009 to purchase apartments in Dubai and London. The former president said he was given the financial assistance because \u201cKing Abdullah was like a brother\u201d to him. The claim came during […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3245,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-12536","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-national"},"yoast_head":"\n