Bush stops Mush-Karzai fight at party

Washington: US President George Bush had to intervene when Pakistan president Pervez Musharraf and Afghan president Hamid Karzai, respectively - clashed at the dinner table on Thursday evening in Washington.

The occasion was the Iftar party hosted by Bush for his two visiting counterparts.

“During the dinner meeting with Bush, Musharraf and Karzai first hit out at each other, then came to exchanging hot words at which President Bush had to intervene,” reported The Nation.

The paper also said that Karzai blamed Pakistan of supporting the Taliban which, according to him, was causing difficulties in maintaining peace in Afghanistan.

He also alleged that Osama bin Laden and Mullah Omar were in Pakistan but President Musharraf had closed his eyes towards them.

This enraged Musharraf and he compared President Karzai to an ostrich adding that he had nothing else to do but to levy charges and that "his government has failed completely and he (Karzai) is unaware of the facts."

Musharraf further is learnt to have said that Pakistan had always favoured peace in Afghanistan because “the state of anarchy there was exercising bad effects on Pakistan”. He went on to say that Karzai lacked both in the power of decision and courage, added the paper.

Replying to this, Karzai levied another charge that Islamic schools (madaris) in Pakistan were teaching extremism and hatred and Musharraf government was not in a position to do anything in this regard, although it was aware of it.

He also charged that Pakistan with reaching an accord with Taliban rather than the tribal chiefs in North Waziristan. This infuriated Musharraf and he, pointing at Karzai said that he was unable to feel the difference between Taliban and the Pakhtoons.

At this Hamid Karzai also pointed his finger at Musharraf saying that Osama and Mulla Omar were in Pakistan. President Musharraf replied in the same coin that there was no proof of it, but this much was known that both of them were in Kandahar (Afghanistan).

At this stage, President Bush came in saying “enough, enough”. He requested both of them to shake hands and to maintain a friendly attitude between them in order to fight the common enemy otherwise they (Pakistan, Afghanistan and the US) would never be able to finish terror and its network. Finally, both of them shook hands with each other to bring the hot talks to an end.