In an exclusive interview to New Agency Musharraf said that the US President has “come in with a clean slate.”

I generally see things optimistically and, whatever his personal qualities, I see him [Donald Trump] as an agent of change, Former President of Pakistan, General Pervez Musharraf, has said.

In an exclusive interview to Al Arabiya English – conducted on the sidelines of the South Asia Rising Conference in Dubai on Sunday – Musharraf said that the US President has “come in with a clean slate.”

“He is quite uninitiated into world disputes, into our region, into India, Pakistan, Kashmir, Afghanistan, all these are new to him so therefore one can influence his mind to the right direction,” he said.

War on terror

Musharraf also said that Pakistan’s plate is already full when it comes to dealing with terror. “We need to look at ourselves and we need to control terrorism within Pakistan,” he said, adding that a very holistic approach is needed to tackle this challenge.

“In Pakistan terrorism exists in different forms … and each one of them should be dealt with,” Musharraf said in the interview. According to him, taking this approach will help the Arab world as well as the rest of the world. “Basically what Pakistan is facing, others are also facing”.

Sectarianism

Musharraf said that his views are very clear on the issues of terrorism in the Muslim world. “Whenever terrorism also has sectarian overtones it becomes very explosive and dangerous for the Muslim world. This is what needs to be resolved,” he said.

He added that unfortunately whatever is happening in Yemen and in Iraq, Syria and other parts of the Middle East, has sectarian overtones. “That needs to be checked and controlled,” he said.

During the interview, Musharraf also talked about the political situation in Pakistan, Indo-Pak disputes and the news related to Pakistan’s General Raheel Sharif becoming the head of “Muslim NATO”.

General Pervez Musharraf was the President of Pakistan from 2001–2008, and the Chief of Army Staff from 1998–2007. In 1999, President Musharraf came into power with what TIME Magazine quoted as “the most dangerous job in the world” and played a critical role in fighting the war on terrorism during his presidency.