Q:When will you appoint a new army
chief? A: When I step down!
Were they laughing at Gen. Musharraf?
By
Hassan Abbas
BOSTON:
President General Pervez Musharraf while addressing a select gathering
of students and scholars at the prestigious Kennedy School of Government,
Harvard University, on the evening of September 8, asserted that
“I am at the helm of affairs and I am extremely democratic”
- the audience couldn’t help laughing.
Musharraf,
apparently, was reading the text of the speech for the first time.
The title of the address was: “Pakistan in the 21st century:
our vision for the future”. He, instead, spent most of the
time elaborating his achievements in reviving the Pakistan economy
and justifying his measures in the political sphere - the arguments
were neither forceful nor convincing. The best part of the speech,
however, was his advocacy for a dire need of the dialogue of civilization
between Muslims and the West. While criticizing the stereotyping
of Muslims in the West, he insightfully maintained that “we
must ensure that the Islamic world and the West are allies in combating
terrorism and do not at any stage turn into antagonists confronting
each other.”
Musharraf
surprised many in the audience when he told a questioner that he
may soon be leaving the post of the Army Chief. The leading question
was asked by a known Nawaz Sharif supporter. "Mr President,you
have spoken about the role of the army and the three power brokers,
when will you appoint a new army chief." Musharraf was taken
aback and in his usual frank style said: "I will appoint a
new chief when I step down." There was an laughter in the audience.
But then Musharraf added: " That will not be very far off."
This comment left many guessing what did he mean
as only a few days back he had announced that he would be president
and army chief for the next five years. That had prompted many commentators
and analysts to assume that he had blocked the path of all his colleagues
who could start conspiring against him. Is this his quid pro quo
for remaining President? Is this why he is so confident he has left
the country for several days although there have been several attempts
on his life? What does it mean for the rest of the country? Can
he survive purely as a politician, without the army stick with him?
These and numerous other questions were immediately rising in every
mind, but Musharraf had moved on to the next question from his audience.
Earlier,
President of the Harvard University, Dr. Larry Summers while introducing
President Musharraf was quite kind to him when he said that “General
Musharraf began exercising his responsibilities as chief executive
of Pakistan in October 1999”. He considered it impolite to
say that Musharraf dislodged a democratically elected government
and took over the country by force.
Encouraged
by this gesture, Musharraf later went on to explain his theory of
“checks and balances” justifying his recent constitutional
dispensation. Perhaps, his political advisors should brief him that
by a system of checks and balances, Montesquieu meant constitutional
checks between state institutions and not between powerful personalities
in a state. But unfortunately, politics as a subject is not taught
at military academies and hence his advisors, mostly retired generals,
are not aware of these “intricacies”.
While
facing tough questions from audience on issues related to democracy
in Pakistan, Musharraf at one point said that he had two options
before him on October 12, 1999 – “to face humiliation
or take over” – he asked the audience what they would
have done? People laughed and perhaps the General didn’t realize
that they laughed at him. Perhaps, for the first time he acknowledged
that it was a personal issue and not that of “national interest”.
Musharraf
also spoke about the four pillars of his reform agenda – economic
revival; good governance; political restructuring to ensure stable
and enduring democracy; and human resource development focused on
poverty alleviation. He tried to argue that Pakistan’s economy
is poised for sustainable growth, but the facts and figures he quoted
were quite exaggerated. To say that inflation in Pakistan is “well
in check” and that “exports have reached a historical
record” is not substantiated by facts on ground.
Comparatively,
his arguments in reference to fighting extremism in Pakistan made
much more sense. His assertion that, “shunning the illiterate
view of Islam shall remain our endeavor” and that he would
not “allow a fringe element to hold the entire nation hostage”
was appreciated by the audience. But he criticized the “detractors
in the media” who are indicating that he is backing down from
his commitments. He maintained that these media gurus “need
to have a clearer picture of the ground reality”. Its not
understood what he meant by this last statement!
In
reference to relations with India, he articulately made the case
that since 9/11, India has embarked upon a relentless campaign to
cast Pakistan and the Kashmiris on the wrong side of the terrorism
issue. He argued that “terrorism did not create the tragedy
in Kashmir”, rather, “the long delay in the resolution
of the dispute has led to desperation and militancy”. Musharraf,
benefiting from the opportunity, conveyed to the US administration
that “India needs to be persuaded that coercion is not a viable
instrument of policy in our regional environment”. Later when
an Indian student asked him why should India trust him after the
Kargil episode, he in a debator-like fashion said: “I have
offered India a no war pact, mutual denucleariztion, and a dialogue
for peace – what would you like to do first?”
During
the last part of the speech, he gave voice to the concerns of Muslims
in general vis-à-vis the war against terrorism. He emphasized
that simplistic explanations of the recent terrorist acts are sowing
the seeds of conflict at a time when greater understanding among
cultures and civilizations is needed. He said that his vision of
future see Pakistan as a bridge between Islam and the West.
During
the Q&A session, a couple of very interesting issues were raised.
Professor Mahmood Awan, a close family friend and business partner
of Nawaz Sharif, asked Musharraf about his views on the future role
of Pakistan Army in the political sphere, to which Musharraf replied
that Army will have no role in the government sector. A lady then
asked him about the feudal culture in Pakistan and how is he planning
to eradicate that. Musharraf gave a very surprising answer to this
– he contended that many youngsters from these feudal families
are coming to US and Europe for higher education and they are bringing
about a positive change in the traditional system. Perhaps, the
general has no clue how far is this assertion from reality.
It
is not often that prestigious institutions like Harvard invite the
leaders of Pakistan. The opportunity could have been availed in
a better way. There is not much that Musharraf can defend vis-à-vis
his constitutional changes, so it is advisable for him to focus
more on the regional and international issues that interest Pakistan
and make a case for more foreign investment and financial support
to Pakistan.
E-Mail: us1789@hotmail.com
Email Story | 
Discuss Story
