In India for the first time after he demitted office last year and days after the attack in Lahore on Sri Lankan cricketers, former Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf was part combative and part sarcastic as he fielded questions at the India Today Conclave in New Delhi on Saturday night.

Musharraf—who is known as the architect of the Kargil conflict—started off playing the peacenik. “I stand for peace between India and Pakistan...I am a man for peace, not a man of peace,” he said.

While talking of militancy in Kashmir, he said, “Why did Lashkar-e-Toiba and Jaish-e-Mohammad come into being? Because of Muslims in India and Kashmir, in particular.”

This set the stage for an interesting exchange between him and Rajya Sabha MP Maulana Mahmood Madani. Madani told Musharraf: “There are more Muslims in India than in Pakistan...Indian Muslims have the ability to solve their problems, don’t try to alienate them.” Musharraf retorted with a hint of sarcasm, “If you are happy in your present condition, I am most happy...I take back my words.”

Taking credit for the “thawing of relations” during his rule, he blamed India for slowing down the peace process and said, “four years were lost”. Urging to “overcome the burden of history”, he called for reducing the trust deficit and talked of resolution of disputes with flexibility, sincerity and boldness.

But through all this, he batted for the Pakistani Army and the ISI. “Right from the second day of the Mumbai attacks, the Pak Army and ISI were accused of being rogues...this is overdone.”

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