The Hindu : National : 57-year-old egos will not wither easily: Altaf Hussain

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Thursday, Nov 11, 2004

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National

57-year-old egos will not wither easily: Altaf Hussain

By Amit Baruah

NEW DELHI, NOV. 10. It was the turn of the politician, not the demagogue. If the London-based Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) chief, Altaf Hussain, was all fire and brimstone at an international conference last week, he was the measured politician today.

In a freewheeling conversation with this correspondent, Mr. Hussain, who has successfully remote-controlled the MQM in Pakistan for the last 12 years, felt that both the Pakistan President, Pervez Musharraf, and the Indian leadership were "sincere" in trying to address their differences.

The MQM leader, who revealed that he had had a telephone conversation with Gen. Musharraf before coming to India, has met the External Affairs Minister, Natwar Singh, and the BJP chief, L.K. Advani. He had no hesitation in stating that he would be speaking to Gen. Musharraf at the end of his visit.

"But", he warned, "the 57-year-old egos of India and Pakistan," would not wither away easily. Asked why the current peace talks were different from what had taken place earlier, Mr. Hussain felt that the two countries were "not out to cheat each other" this time.

Stressing that there could be no permanent peace between India and Pakistan until the Kashmir issue was resolved, Mr. Hussain reiterated that the Line of Control (LoC) should be temporarily accepted by the two countries. "Neither India nor Pakistan can cross the LoC," the MQM leader said.

Asked whether he favoured the proposed Iran-Pakistan-India gas pipeline, Mr. Hussain said that trade should not be restricted to pipelines.

Stating that India and Pakistan should spend more on development and less on defence, he said that the consulates in Karachi and Mumbai should be opened immediately.

Coming out in support of the latest proposals made by Gen. Musharraf on Kashmir, Mr. Hussain said it was difficult for any Pakistani leader to speak about setting aside the national position on holding a plebiscite in Kashmir.

Favouring the re-opening of the international border at Khokrapar, Mr. Hussain said this would permit the Urdu-speaking migrants from India to Pakistan easier access to the country of their ancestors.

Admires Indian democracy

The MQM leader claimed that he was a great admirer of Indian democracy. Pointing out that martial law had never been imposed in India for a single day, Mr. Hussain said: "I want the same kind of democracy in Pakistan." Democracy of the kind that India enjoyed did not exist anywhere else in the world.

Stressing that feudal elements and military generals had been supporting each other in Pakistan, he said that 15,000 Mohajirs had been extra-judicially executed in Karachi and other parts of Sindh. "My own elder brother and nephew, who had nothing to do with politics, were killed."

According to him, post-September 11, 2001, the situation had changed the order of things in Pakistan. There had been contacts between him and the Pakistani military leadership soon after the October 2002 elections in Pakistan.

Referring to Gen. Musharraf as "brave" in his bearing and liberal in his approach, Mr. Hussain also said that the United States was key to those wielding power in Pakistan.

Asked if other Pakistani leaders in exile — Benazir Bhutto and Nawaz Sharif — could return home, Mr. Hussain said this was not possible at the moment.

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