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Saturday, Jul 14, 2007
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Musharraf has a tough road ahead: ex-diplomats

Sandeep Dikshit

NEW DELHI: The speech by Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf vowing to eliminate extremism and militancy from “every corner” of the country has left the country’s strategic community wondering whether his resolve extends to the immediate neighbourhood, especially India and Afghanistan, which have borne the brunt of its Army-sponsored terrorist launch pads.

Dividing the Opposition

While Gen. Musharraf has politically strengthened himself by dividing the Opposition with his speech, he has a tough road ahead, especially when it comes to laying out a concrete road map for implementing his intentions. The frontier areas have strong “jehadi” networks, the popular appeal of dismissed Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhary cannot be wished away and he has become more vulnerable to attempts on his life.

According to former Foreign Secretary Salman Haider, the General’s statement seemed a little ambitious and could make his political life less easy in a situation where political backing to him appeared feeble. Mr. Haider and former diplomats G. Parthasarathy, Hamid Ansari and Satish Chandra also referred to the long years of patronage by the Pakistan Army to the Lal Masjid and wondered what effect the contradictory action of storming would have on public opinion. “This is not the end of the story. It is the beginning of something,” felt Mr. Haider.

Mr. Parthasarathy, a former High Commissioner to Pakistan, pointed out that the action had pleased China and the U.S. but his stance could result in heightened personal threat to Gen. Musharraf. “The fact is that his army has run with the Jehadi hare and hunted with the U.S. hounds. When you adopt such contradictory policies, the result is you trip yourself up.”

Mr. Ansari, a veteran diplomat, felt Gen. Musharraf’s speech was “sober” but pointed out that “Lal Masjid won’t be the last one. There are more like this in other cities which would have to be confronted.” Pakistan seems poised to deal with militant manifestation at home but the launch of terrorists in Jammu and Kashmir would continue to be calibrated. Pakistan also had strategic interests in Afghanistan and was unlikely to follow the U.S. line “just because the present ruler of Kabul is a friend of the western alliance.”

The former chief of Research & Analysis Wing C.D. Sahay pointed out that the Pakistan President had made similar statements earlier. “Those commitments were grudgingly fulfilled to the extent that he found them convenient. There was no wholehearted effort to eradicate extremism and terrorism.”

Academician Qamar Agha felt Gen. Musharraf would now have to eliminate all traces of fundamentalism otherwise the situation in the entire region would worsen. Mr. Agha wanted the General to focus on the SAARC mechanism to benefit all the people in the region, including Pakistan, and thereby wean them away from supporting fundamentalist forces.

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