Amid Pakistan Chaos, Musharraf Fancies a Comeback

[fatman17]

Amid Pakistan Chaos, Musharraf Fancies a Comeback

By Omar Waraich / Islamabad Wednesday, Mar. 11, 2009

When Pakistan's civilian politicians united, last August, to force General-turned-President Pervez Musharraf from power, the moment was hailed as a democratic milestone in country long ruled by military men. But now, as the country's two main political parties remain locked in an endless power struggle while Pakistan's security and economic crises spiral dangerously out of control, Musharraf has stepped back into the public eye. After months seeking solace on the tennis court and the golf course, the former strongman has in recent weeks given a flurry of speeches and press conferences. He is also planning a new memoir. And lest anyone mistake this renewed publicity campaign as nothing more than burnishing his legacy, Musharraf last week raised the prospect of a political comeback.

In a rare television interview, Musharraf, spoke with a calm that had eluded him during his final months in office. Still, he projected an unrelenting certainty as he defended the military and its intelligence wing, and Pakistan's policy on Kashmir, and insisted that he had no regrets about any of his decisions while in office. (In an earlier appearance on camera, a cigar-chomping Musharraf had lashed out at the widespread belief, shared by members of the Obama administration, that he had been double-dealing Washington by continuing to support elements of the Taliban while receiving billions in aid.) Asked if he would reclaim the presidency if it was offered to him, Musharraf did not hesitate to say yes. "If someone makes an offer, then I will see if I can play a role," he said. "Obviously, I'll take the offer — if I can play a role... I wouldn't like to be a useless president, who can't contribute anything."

Loyalists insist that he still has more to offer Pakistan than do his squabbling successors, and that he should be restored to power. But for critics and even many former supporters, Musharraf's legacy remains so controversial that it has closed off the possibility of another military coup any time soon.

Musharraf's latest campaign of self-promotion has provoked disbelief from a range of observers. "He's behaving as if he's done wonders for the country," says Talat Masood, a retired general who was once on nodding terms with Musharraf. "He has no idea of the legacy he has left behind. I personally think that's he as detached from realities as he was in his last months. When he was in power, he was so half-hearted about everything. There was no commitment to the war on terror, madrassa reforms, creating genuine democracy or strengthening institutions. I also think that the army will be embarrassed by what he is saying."

But as Pakistan's crises multiply, there is a small minority that harbors nostalgia for the Musharraf years, not least among Karachi's business community who have lost fortunes as the stock market crashed over the past year. "In South Asia," says Tariq Azeem, a former minister under Musharraf who remains close to him, "there is a tendency that when someone goes, then there are some people who start comparing the performance of the current government with the government that has gone by."

Azeem declines to rule out a political comeback for his erstwhile boss. "It is difficult to say; in politics everything is possible," he says. "For the moment, there is a restriction in the constitution that prevents him for standing for office in the next two years. I think he can still be a very useful person, because of his contacts. There could be a role for him in back-channel diplomacy, like some former American Presidents." And Azeem reveals that Musharraf may be about to raise his presence in Pakistan's national conversation through a new memoir. "When I last visited him at his home," the former minister says, "[Musharraf] said that his publishers are interested in him writing a second book."

Nobody is expecting the current government to turn to Musharraf as some kind of elder statesman, however. "It seems that the former President is trying to embarrass the government," says Farhatullah Babar, spokesman for President Asif Ali Zardari, "but he will not succeed because of the baggage he is carrying. The damage he has done to civil society and government institutions is too great. He will not be rehabilitated."

Aftab Sherpao, who had been a member of Musharraf's cabinet, believes that his former boss mistakenly nurtures political ambitions. "I think he's interested," says the former Interior Minister. "He's been in the power game for so long that now he's lost it. He feels there's a vacuum. He feels that there are people who still look up to him. I'm sure that people around him are suggesting that these politicians who are running the country are not capable."

Musharraf's grim assessment of the performance of his successors is certainly shared by most Pakistanis: Recent polls show that the Zardari government's approval ratings have fallen to levels comparable to the lowest recorded by Musharraf while in power. The government is under fire not only for the faltering economy, but also for failure to protect Sri Lanka's visiting cricketers from a terror attack in Lahore last week (whose perpetrators remain at large), and for bowing to Taliban demands for the imposition of Islamic law in the Swat Valley. And the political turmoil is set to deepen, next week, when a protest march of lawyers and opposition politicians demanding the reinstatement of judges heads for Islamabad. (See pictures of the deadly attacks on Sri Lanka's cricket team.)

While the threat of chaos might have traditionally provoked the military to seize the reins of power, few observers believe there's much prospect today of a coup, let alone a Musharraf comeback. General Ashfaq Kayani, the current army chief, is seen as a professional soldier keen to maintain a distance from politics. And the Obama Administration is unlikely to abide another military takeover in Pakistan so soon. "I don't think that at this time and juncture it's possible for the army to get back in the driving seat," says Sherpao. "The damage done by the Musharraf years to its public image has made sure of that."

Musharraf, plainly, disagrees.


Times-on-line

 

[fatman17]

The general struts his stuff in India

By Siddharth Srivastava

NEW DELHI - As far as New Delhi was concerned, it wanted the visit this week by former president General Pervez Musharraf to be uneventful and low key, given its keenness not to upset the democratically elected government in Pakistan.

Knowing Musharraf's penchant to use the media to rake up issues, generally attract attention, play the loyal soldier and visionary statesman at the same time, this was wishful thinking.

It soon became apparent that the general is just not ready or willing to fade into oblivion by limiting himself to the lucrative international lecture circuit and spending time with his dogs, playing golf and tennis.

Musharraf seized power in a bloodless coup in 1999 to become president and also chief of army staff. On August 18, 2008, in a nationally-televised speech, he announced his resignation.

Although Musharraf spoke about being a "man for peace" while in India, he was belligerent and combative, bluntly saying he should not be ruled out from the power stakes in Pakistan. Musharraf said that the "trust deficit" between India and Pakistan had widened in the wake of last November's terror attacks in Mumbai and the one in Lahore last week, but he only ended up fanning more fires.

Musharraf said the two countries could go to war if main disputes were not resolved or if India carried out "any surgical strikes" on suspected terror camps within Pakistani territory. The Mumbai attacks were linked to Pakistani militants.

"In such circumstances, a Kargil-like incident can occur," Musharraf said, though he added that the two countries should sort issues "with seriousness and in a sensible manner and not create war hysteria".

On its part, New Delhi tried its best to keep Musharraf's visit subdued, unofficial, private and bereft of any symbolic interpretations, offering minimum security coverage and some diplomatic civilities, but no red carpet roll-out.

Indeed, India has reason to distrust the man who was the chief architect of the brief Kargil war in 1999 between the two neighbors.

Thus, requests for an audience with President Pratibha Patil, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Congress party president Sonia Gandhi were gently but firmly refused, and so was a wish to visit Ajmer, a holy city in Rajasthan state, on grounds of security.

Musharraf could perhaps have had an audience with former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee as the two initiated the India-Pakistan peace process in 2004, but that too did not materialize due to the latter's ill health.

Musharraf's four-day visit was thus limited to attending a magazine conclave, another private meeting organized by an industry body, roaming around historical monuments such as the Qutab Minar and the Red Fort and praying at the Jama Masjid (mosque) and Nizamuddin shrine.

Yet, the 65-year-old general, in India to deliver a lecture on the invitation of a news magazine, used TV time and other occasions to speak about Kashmir, terrorism, Siachen, Kargil, the failed Agra summit and Indian Muslims in ways that can never be palatable here, but were lapped up by sections in Pakistan.

Speaking at the conclave, Musharraf said such interactions could help address the "trust deficit, misperceptions, distortions and lack of understanding and lack of information". He called for similar interactions in Pakistan.

Clearly playing to the galleries in Pakistan and perhaps an international audience, Musharraf claimed that the reason for the growth of terrorism was that Indian Muslims, a sizeable minority, had been alienated, particularly in Kashmir, even as Hindus continued to live peacefully in Pakistan.

He said that "lots of mujahideen" in Pakistani society and "freelance jihadis" had "emotional involvement" with the cause of Kashmiris and this has led to the formation of terror groups such as Lashkar-e-Taiba, which India accuses of orchestrating some of the worst terror strikes in the country, including the Mumbai attacks that left nearly 200 dead.

Predictably, such assertions evoked strong reactions.

"Indian Muslims are capable of solving their problems ... We don't need your advice. Don't try to alienate Indian Muslims by your remarks, here or in Pakistan," prominent Muslim leader Mehmood Madani retorted, which left the former president visibly nonplussed.

"The population of Muslims in India [154 million] is [almost] more than the total population of Pakistan [172 million]. You should know this," Madani said.

However, not to be cowed and finding form quickly, on another occasion Musharraf claimed that India's external intelligence agency, the Research and Analysis Wing (RAW) was aiding militants in Afghanistan to foment trouble, including terror attacks in Pakistan.

Islamabad has blamed RAW for the attacks on Sri Lankan cricketers in Lahore, an assertion that has been dismissed as ludicrous by most, even in Pakistan.

New Delhi has for long blamed Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) as being hand-in-glove with terror groups.

"We have to accept the reality. Your RAW does exactly what the ISI does. My request is to let us tackle RAW and ISI to stop this confrontation," he said.

Musharraf mocked India's long-time request that Pakistan hand over Indian underworld don and terrorist Dawood Ibrahim, suspected to be in hiding in Karachi in Pakistan at times.

Initially, refuting that he knew of the whereabouts of Dawood, Musharraf said that even if the gangster were handed over to India, it would not change matters between the two countries and terror strikes would continue until disputes around Kashmir were sorted.
Of particular interest was Musharraf's statement to a private TV channel that he was open to leading the country again if he could become a "useful" president.

"If someone offers, I will see whether I can play a role and then I will take the offer. I won't like to be a useless president," Musharraf said.

These thoughts hold some value as they were made in the wake of reports from Pakistan that army chief General Ashfaq Pervez Kiani has ticked off President Asif Ali Zardari with regards to the fast deteriorating political and security situation in the country.

These reports follow Kiani's visit to America and indications that Washington might be open to a more active role by the army, especially to control brazen terror attacks in Pakistan.

Musharraf himself resigned as president due to partial pressure from America that Pakistan return to democracy.

Clearly, he is not walking away in a hurry.

Siddharth Srivastava is a New Delhi-based journalist. He can be reached at sidsri@yahoo.com.

 

[Bane Blade]

Although you may have mentioned it before but do you fatman 17 believe their is a chance of a come back for the ex genereal.

I don't think so and I don't think that any reasonable election held today wouldn't be a clean sweep for PML(N) it happened in the past during 97 era after PPP had been awarded for one of the most courrupt government ever if democracy prevails it will be PML(N)'s happy days. But certainly Musharraf would be unable to return the media is going to really push some of the issues against him.