...To bring stability and peace to Afghanistan, (click title to entry - thank you) "the political element is the most critical," he said.
Nation-builders in Afghanistan need to "look for a homegrown political covenant," he said.
Musharraf endorsed the U.S. Army General Stanley McChrystal's plan to put more troops into Afghanistan.
When asked by an audience member whether Pakistan has the "national will" to exercise control over tribal areas like the Swat Valley, Musharraf said the violence in the Swat Valley has turned most ordinary Pakistanis against the Taliban.
"The people of Pakistan are behind the army."
One audience member asked what can be done to purge Paskistan's intelligence services of rogue extremist elements.
The former general denied that those elements exist, saying that dissension in the ranks is merely a "perception created by certain Western interests and the media.
"If the army and intelligence services are not leading the fight against extremism in the tribal areas, Musharraf asked, "Who will?"
"We must trust them," he said. "There is a trust deficit. ... This trust deficit has to go."
