India not a "threat" to Pakistan: Zardari

"I have always considered India a neighbour, which we want to improve our relationship with. We have had some cold times and we have had some hard times with them. We have gone to war thrice, but democracies are always trying to improve relationships," Zardari

Washington, May 10: In a rare admission by a Pakistani leader, President Asif Ali Zardari has said India is not a "threat" to his country, hours after he confirmed that Islamabad had moved some of its forces from its eastern border to eliminate Taliban in its tribal belt.

"Well, I am already on record. I have never considered India a threat," Zardari said in an interview on the PBS news channel's popular show "Newshour With Jim Lehrer" yesterday.

This is the first time a top Pakistani leader has publicly said that India is not a threat to the country, a fact which Obama Administration has been trying to convince Zardari and the Pakistan Army for quite some time now.

"I have always considered India a neighbour, which we want to improve our relationship with. We have had some cold times and we have had some hard times with them. We have gone to war thrice, but democracies are always trying to improve relationships," Zardari said while responding to a question about "which being the greatest threat to Pakistan? India, or the militants." Last month, at a White House press conference held on the occasion of his 100 days in office, Obama had said that confronted with the Taliban offensive, Pakistan is beginning to recognise that viewing India as a "mortal threat" is misguided and that its biggest threat came internally. PTI