LOND ON (Online) Former President Pervez Musharraf has said that the United States and its allies had committed a big mistake by leaving Pakistan and Afghanistan alone after 1989. Addressing a British think tank on Sunday, he pointed out that the US had sidelined Taliban after the end of cold war and the region fell into instability and militancy. He said that the US by committing several mistakes lost the support of majority of the worn-torn country. Praising contributions of Pakistani troops in tribal areas, he said the troops are rendering valuable sacrifices there to root out the menace of militancy.