Post by maruf on Jun 19, 2005 2:59:26 GMT -5
Getting comfy with the general
Pervez Musharraf may prolong his rule; America would be pleased
Dateline: RAWALPINDI
"I DON'T believe", asserts Pervez Musharraf, Pakistan's president, "in showing left and hitting right." It is a characteristically combative metaphor from a man who presents himself, with charming affability, as a straight-talking soldier with no patience for artifice. What you see, his bearing insists, is what you get. Yet what you get is an enigma: a deft politician, who claims to stay aloof from the political fray; an exponent of a moderate, liberal Islam, who panders to extremists; a professed democrat, who at the end of last year broke a promise to shed his uniform and rule as a civilian; one, moreover, who now seems to want to hang on to power after his presidential term expires in 2007.
Relaxing in civvies, General Musharraf nevertheless received The Economist--as he does most visitors--at the home that goes with his day-job of army chief. Army House is in Rawalpindi, a half-hour drive from Islamabad, whose broad avenues swarm with politicians and diplomats. The general seems in no hurry to leave either milieu. This month Sheikh Rashid, Pakistan's information minister and one of General Musharraf's part-time trial-balloonists, said his boss would be a candidate for president in 2007. The general refuses comment, but nor does he deny it. Asked elsewhere whether he would remain president but stand down as army chief, he replied: "Yes and no"--which is either an answer, or a refusal to provide one.
Yet for all his bluff disparagement of political wheeler-dealing, this appears to be General Musharraf's favourite game, and he is skilled at it. Having seized power in a bloodless coup in 1999, he cloaked himself, as president, with the bogus legitimacy of a rigged referendum in April 2002. Elections for the National Assembly later that year produced a civilian government led by loyalists in his faction of the Muslim League. But now he has spread consternation in the League by entering talks with the Pakistan People's Party, led by Benazir Bhutto, one of two exiled former prime ministers.
The general says all he wants is that "the moderates should be strengthened and the extremists should be weaker." Yet he seems to be laying the foundations for a second term.
My comments: The job does not appear to be finished
Many observers in America, especially, would cheer if General Musharraf dug in for a longer haul. He is a vital ally in the campaign against what is left of al-Qaeda and the Taliban in the Afghan border areas. America would probably also be pleased if he aligned himself with a civilian-led, avowedly secular, pro-western opposition party, such as Ms Bhutto's. Unlike, say, Uzbekistan's Islam Karimov, General Musharraf does present a liberal face to the world. If only his democratic credentials were less threadbare.
My comments: U.S. has got his hand all in the "cookie jar," if you will.
General Musharraf, once hated in India as the mastermind of a war in 1999, provoked by the incursions of the army he commanded into the Kargil district of Kashmir, is now also popular there. Relations with India, which in 2002 had sunk so low that war between the nuclear-armed neighbours seemed possible, are now probably better than ever. He believes the core dispute, over Kashmir (see In from the Cold), could be resolved within a year, and should be settled while he and Manmohan Singh, India's prime minister, are still in office. A settlement, he suggests, should be guaranteed by the international community. This notion, which he says has just come to him, would horrify India. This adds to the impression General Musharraf's diplomacy often gives: that he makes it up as he goes along.
My comments:I think it is a well known fact that the mujahideen were betrayed by Musharraf and Pakistan in Kashmir
Foreign admirers swallow General Musharraf's self-portrayal as a bastion of "enlightened moderation" in a country at risk of a lurch into Islamic fundamentalism. Liberals in his own country are not so sure. He has failed to stand up for them in a recent controversy over the banning of mixed-sex street races. In one such "mini-marathon", in the eastern city of Lahore, about 30 activists were detained, including Asma Jahangir, who chairs the national Human Rights Commission. She complained that General Musharraf has a soft face for the outside world, and a hard one for his own people. The sporty General Musharraf, who plays tennis most days, says, "I would like to run with them." But, he adds, "I don't think society is prepared for that." If the marathon had not been stopped, some women might have been killed. And yet Pakistan--with its seamy entertainment district in Lahore and thronging beaches near Karachi--is not always as intolerant as this suggests.
"Enlightened moderation", General Musharraf explains, "is a strategic concept more than a tactical one". The strategy is to uproot extremism by banning militant groups and by "mainstreaming" Islamic schools, or madrassas—that is, making them teach more than religious doctrine. Social changes--such as mixed-sex marathons--are "merely tactical signposts": "You cannot impose liberal values."
My comments: He comes out and clearly states what englightened moderation is all about, weakening Islaam.
Over some forms of modernisation, however, General Musharraf is more militant: "we must finish tribalism and feudalism from Pakistan society." This sounds ominous for the restive western province of Baluchistan. In March, 67 people died in a battle between tribal militiamen and government troops in the town of Dera Bugti, mostly when the government shelled a residential area. The president thinks further fighting can be avoided but insists that the key is to show the people that the "government's writ" is stronger than that of tribal leaders.
From a distance, General Musharraf can seem a rather fragile leader. His political party is in disarray, he is under attack from liberals, and at risk of a third assassination attempt by Islamist extremists, perhaps abetted by his own spies. Tribal separatists threaten war in one province. Taliban and al-Qaeda remnants still roam the borders. In Army House, however, the general seems just that: at home, and unlikely to move unless he has to.
My comments: Yes of course, if he is forced to, he will not step down or give Muslims the power
Pervez Musharraf may prolong his rule; America would be pleased
Dateline: RAWALPINDI
"I DON'T believe", asserts Pervez Musharraf, Pakistan's president, "in showing left and hitting right." It is a characteristically combative metaphor from a man who presents himself, with charming affability, as a straight-talking soldier with no patience for artifice. What you see, his bearing insists, is what you get. Yet what you get is an enigma: a deft politician, who claims to stay aloof from the political fray; an exponent of a moderate, liberal Islam, who panders to extremists; a professed democrat, who at the end of last year broke a promise to shed his uniform and rule as a civilian; one, moreover, who now seems to want to hang on to power after his presidential term expires in 2007.
Relaxing in civvies, General Musharraf nevertheless received The Economist--as he does most visitors--at the home that goes with his day-job of army chief. Army House is in Rawalpindi, a half-hour drive from Islamabad, whose broad avenues swarm with politicians and diplomats. The general seems in no hurry to leave either milieu. This month Sheikh Rashid, Pakistan's information minister and one of General Musharraf's part-time trial-balloonists, said his boss would be a candidate for president in 2007. The general refuses comment, but nor does he deny it. Asked elsewhere whether he would remain president but stand down as army chief, he replied: "Yes and no"--which is either an answer, or a refusal to provide one.
Yet for all his bluff disparagement of political wheeler-dealing, this appears to be General Musharraf's favourite game, and he is skilled at it. Having seized power in a bloodless coup in 1999, he cloaked himself, as president, with the bogus legitimacy of a rigged referendum in April 2002. Elections for the National Assembly later that year produced a civilian government led by loyalists in his faction of the Muslim League. But now he has spread consternation in the League by entering talks with the Pakistan People's Party, led by Benazir Bhutto, one of two exiled former prime ministers.
The general says all he wants is that "the moderates should be strengthened and the extremists should be weaker." Yet he seems to be laying the foundations for a second term.
My comments: The job does not appear to be finished
Many observers in America, especially, would cheer if General Musharraf dug in for a longer haul. He is a vital ally in the campaign against what is left of al-Qaeda and the Taliban in the Afghan border areas. America would probably also be pleased if he aligned himself with a civilian-led, avowedly secular, pro-western opposition party, such as Ms Bhutto's. Unlike, say, Uzbekistan's Islam Karimov, General Musharraf does present a liberal face to the world. If only his democratic credentials were less threadbare.
My comments: U.S. has got his hand all in the "cookie jar," if you will.
General Musharraf, once hated in India as the mastermind of a war in 1999, provoked by the incursions of the army he commanded into the Kargil district of Kashmir, is now also popular there. Relations with India, which in 2002 had sunk so low that war between the nuclear-armed neighbours seemed possible, are now probably better than ever. He believes the core dispute, over Kashmir (see In from the Cold), could be resolved within a year, and should be settled while he and Manmohan Singh, India's prime minister, are still in office. A settlement, he suggests, should be guaranteed by the international community. This notion, which he says has just come to him, would horrify India. This adds to the impression General Musharraf's diplomacy often gives: that he makes it up as he goes along.
My comments:I think it is a well known fact that the mujahideen were betrayed by Musharraf and Pakistan in Kashmir
Foreign admirers swallow General Musharraf's self-portrayal as a bastion of "enlightened moderation" in a country at risk of a lurch into Islamic fundamentalism. Liberals in his own country are not so sure. He has failed to stand up for them in a recent controversy over the banning of mixed-sex street races. In one such "mini-marathon", in the eastern city of Lahore, about 30 activists were detained, including Asma Jahangir, who chairs the national Human Rights Commission. She complained that General Musharraf has a soft face for the outside world, and a hard one for his own people. The sporty General Musharraf, who plays tennis most days, says, "I would like to run with them." But, he adds, "I don't think society is prepared for that." If the marathon had not been stopped, some women might have been killed. And yet Pakistan--with its seamy entertainment district in Lahore and thronging beaches near Karachi--is not always as intolerant as this suggests.
"Enlightened moderation", General Musharraf explains, "is a strategic concept more than a tactical one". The strategy is to uproot extremism by banning militant groups and by "mainstreaming" Islamic schools, or madrassas—that is, making them teach more than religious doctrine. Social changes--such as mixed-sex marathons--are "merely tactical signposts": "You cannot impose liberal values."
My comments: He comes out and clearly states what englightened moderation is all about, weakening Islaam.
Over some forms of modernisation, however, General Musharraf is more militant: "we must finish tribalism and feudalism from Pakistan society." This sounds ominous for the restive western province of Baluchistan. In March, 67 people died in a battle between tribal militiamen and government troops in the town of Dera Bugti, mostly when the government shelled a residential area. The president thinks further fighting can be avoided but insists that the key is to show the people that the "government's writ" is stronger than that of tribal leaders.
From a distance, General Musharraf can seem a rather fragile leader. His political party is in disarray, he is under attack from liberals, and at risk of a third assassination attempt by Islamist extremists, perhaps abetted by his own spies. Tribal separatists threaten war in one province. Taliban and al-Qaeda remnants still roam the borders. In Army House, however, the general seems just that: at home, and unlikely to move unless he has to.
My comments: Yes of course, if he is forced to, he will not step down or give Muslims the power