Pakistan Leader Pledges Support for
U.S., Democracy
By
Christopher Noble
CAMBRIDGE,
Mass. (Reuters) - Pakistan's military ruler Gen. Pervez Musharraf
on Sunday reiterated his full and continued support for the U.S.-led
war on terror and vowed not to let religious extremists "hijack"
his reform agenda.
Speaking
ahead of his address to the United Nations ( news - web sites) General
Assembly and meetings with President Bush ( news - web sites) this
week, Musharraf said he wanted to build a moderate Islamic state
in Pakistan and lead it to a democratic future in which it would
be a force for peace and stability in South Asia.
He
also repeated his criticism of India for "intransigence"
over the future of the disputed territory of Kashmir ( news - web
sites) and blamed New Delhi for bringing relations between Pakistan
and India to "their lowest ebb."
"Pakistan
is, and will remain, a key member of the global coalition against
international terrorism. The strategic decisions we took after September
11 are consistent with our moral principles and national interests,"
he told an audience of invited guests and students at Harvard University's
John F. Kennedy School of Government.
In
the aftermath of the Sept. 11 attacks on the United States, Musharraf
-- who was an international pariah for seizing power in a 1999 coup
-- reversed his country's earlier support for Afghanistan ( news
- web sites)'s Taliban regime and cast himself as a staunch ally
of the West.
WON'T
BE HELD HOSTAGE
"Our
unstinting support has been critical in the battle against terrorism.
This support would continue until our shared objectives are fully
met," he said. "I remain determined not to allow a fringe
element to hold the entire nation hostage and hijack our agenda
for reforms."
The
comment was a reference to hard-line Muslims in Pakistan who were
angered by Musharraf's policy shift after Sept. 11. Musharraf said
these hard-liners promoted an "illiterate view of Islam"
that he rejected.
In
a brief departure from his prepared remarks, Musharraf appealed
to the audience of students to believe in his support for democracy
despite his background as a career soldier.
"I
am extremely democratic. You have to believe me when I say that,"
he said to a burst of laughter from the audience. "What we
are trying to do is ... introduce real and sustainable democracy
in Pakistan."
Musharraf
has drawn sharp criticism at home and abroad for effectively blocking
two former prime ministers in exile, Benazir Bhutto and Nawaz Sharif,
from taking part in October elections meant to return the country
to civilian rule.
He
also has been criticized for constitutional changes he unveiled
last month that guaranteed a major role for the military in government
and imposed a host of obstacles effectively barring the two popular
politicians from elections on Oct. 10.
Condoleezza
Rice ( news - web sites), Bush's national security adviser, told
Reuters in an interview last week that the United States has made
clear to Musharraf its objections to these moves to bolster his
power and stressed that Bush expects free elections.
"There
isn't any compromise in terms of democratic principles here,"
Rice said. "The president feels very strongly that democracy
is the ultimate guarantor of stability."
Musharraf
told the Harvard audience Pakistan could never be coerced into an
easing of tensions over Kashmir and the only way for his country
and India to make progress was to deal with the dispute diplomatically.
"Without
meaningful progress toward a resolution of the Kashmir issue in
conformity with the wishes of the Kashmiri people, relations between
Pakistan and India will not normalize," he said.
Boston
Globe
Sept. 9, 2002
No slogans, Musharraf urges
Pakistani asks West to probe roots
of unrest
By
Patrick Healy, Globe Staff, 9/9/2002
CAMBRIDGE
- President Pervez Musharraf of Pakistan told a Harvard University
audience last night that the US-led war against terrorism must deal
with the root causes of anger toward the West and not be ''misled
by emotive sloganeering.''
''What is it that conjures up such storms in the
mind? What motivates a suicide bomber that his instinct for survival
is overcome by a death wish?'' General Musharraf said to an audience
of several hundred at the John F. Kennedy School of Government.
''Occupation, repression, injustice, denial of human rights, and
economic deprivation must be eliminated.''
Speaking days ahead of an address by President Bush
to the United Nations that will probably press for military action
in Iraq, Musharraf sidestepped a student's question about whether
Pakistan would support a US attack on Iraq if evidence shows there
are weapons of mass destruction there. He said he would support
an American attack on Iraq if that country used nuclear weapons
against the United States.
Musharraf expressed concern that anti-Muslim prejudice
has emerged globally since Sept. 11 and that future conflicts will
arise unless the West and the Islamic world create a ''universally
shared vision of justice, fair play, and mutual respect.''
''Hate should have no market,'' he said. ''It must
be stamped out with the same zeal with which the fight against terrorism
is pursued.''
Within Pakistan, he said, his government is committed
to reforming the hundreds of madrassahs - Muslim religious schools
- that have been criticized by Western officials as training ground
for radical extremists and members of Al Qaeda. He said new subjects
were being added to broaden madrassah instruction and bring it ''closer
to mainstream education.''
Musharraf, who took power in a bloodless military
coup in 1999 and was elected to a five-year term last spring by
a vote that many observers, and even Musharraf himself, faulted,
was warmly received at Harvard and faced no hostility during the
question-and-answer period.
Wearing a dark gray business suit and red-and-white
tie, Musharraf sought to outline a vision for the future of Pakistan,
saying that he seized power to save Pakistan from elected, ''corrupt''
regimes and to build ''a modern, moderate, tolerant, and progressive,
democratic Islamic state.''
Musharraf defended his unilateral changes last month
to Pakistan's Constitution. These gave him, among other powers,
the right to dissolve Parliament. Once he can ''ensure checks and
balances on all the power brokers in the country,'' he said, he
will restore democratic civilian government.
''I'm extremely democratic; you have to believe
me,'' he said, sparking laughter from students, professors, and
other guests.
Musharraf called on the United States to broker
a peace agreement between Pakistan and India over the disputed province
of Kashmir, a flash point that has sparked three wars between the
two nations over the last 50 years. In response to a question from
a student from India, he also denied ever threatening to attack
that country with nuclear weapons.
''Whatever has happened in the past, we need peace,''
he said.
Harvard President Lawrence H. Summers, expressing
concern about the treatment of women in Pakistan, asked Musharraf
to describe steps he was taking to improve their status. Musharraf
said political posts have been set aside for women - and that legal
and education reforms should lead to further ''empowerment.''
Musharraf said Pakistan also needed the educated
children of expatriates to return home, and encouraged a young man
who asked a question, a Harvard Business School student with Pakistani
ties, to become a member of the next generation of leaders there.
''My generation has failed Pakistan, generally,''
Musharraf said.
''That's true,'' the student interrupted, again
to laughter.
''But I hasten to add,'' the president replied,
''I'm not failing them.''
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