FIRST LADIES MEET: Laura Bush, right, with Sehba Musharraf, wife of Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf, at the White House on Dec. 4. (Photo: Courtesy, The White House)

President Gen. Pervez Musharraf has claimed that there was a weapons’ imbalance with India and his country needed high tech aircraft from Washington to bring things at par.

Asked by CNN’s Wolf Blitzer as to what kind of weapons Pakistan wanted from the U.S., the visiting dignitary said, “We want a balance in our region to be maintained in conventional weapons. There is some imbalance because of hardware that India is purchasing. ....We are looking for high tech aircraft.... We did discuss the issue, I would like to leave it at that.”

On Kashmir, Musharraf said he was very optimistic about a solution because of the joint statement that he made with Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, “I am fairly upbeat about the new leadership in India,” he said.

The president said the Israel-Palestinian dispute was highest on his agenda on his visit to meet President Bush.

Musharraf said he was ready to play a role, if asked to, in bringing about a solution in Palestine. He indicated that as a Muslim country, Pakistan may be a useful go-between in the Middle East.

He also stood his ground that Pakistan was a democratic country and that the 2002 elections were fair.

On what his biggest fear was, Musharraf said, “My biggest fear is from terrorism, terrorists .... which has polluted Pakistani society. ....There is a minority which is extremist and threatens the majority.” His objective, he said, was to make the majority victorious.