The NRO is now making perfect sense!! Mush lovers should come out in the open and celebrate great Zardari!
KARACHI: Former president Pervez Musharraf on Monday said continuation of the PPP-led coalition government will help Pakistan progress, adding the completion of a government’s tenure was a “demand of democracy” so that a country can prosper.
Speaking at a press conference immediately after his arrival from India, where he delivered a lecture on the “Challenges of Change” during the India Today conclave, he, however, declined to comment on whether he thought the present government would last five years.
Commenting on the controversial comment he made during an interview in India in which he said he was willing to become president of Pakistan again, Musharraf clarified he made the comment in a lighter vein. He chuckled the interviewer had asked him the same question at least thrice — if it (the presidentship) was offered to him would he take it — to which he finally replied that if he was “offered” the post he would take it, but only if he thought he could do some good: “If I can be useful, why not?”
However, he clarified he did not want to be a dummy president. Speaking to a packed room overflowing with media men, he also shot down impressions that he intended on forming a political party or even joining one, saying he had “not given it any thought”. He did, however, add such decisions depended on the situation in the country at a given moment.
When asked how he would tackle the present situation had he still been in power, he tersely replied “everyone has their own way of dealing with things”. He added he had learned in the Army to “always study the effect” before getting into the details of how to do something. If the end result was desirable and in line with the policy government, then it should be done, said the former president.
Things heated up momentarily when Musharraf was questioned about the lingering issue of the reinstatement of deposed chief justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry. The retired general said his stance on the deposed chief justice was apparent in the reference that was sent to the Supreme Judicial Council. All allegations against the deposed chief justice were in the open and people should judge for themselves if they want such a person to be the chief justice.
On his decision to move the reference against Justice Iftikhar and the reaction to it, he said it is difficult to precisely gauge the fallout of each move, stressing hindsight was always 20-20. “What has happened, has happened,” he shrugged.
He, however, emphatically rebuffed the notion that the SJC had rejected his allegations against the former chief justice, alleging the contents of his reference had not even been discussed in the case. “It’s not that simple,” he stressed.
He refused to comment on a question regarding the controversial National Reconciliation Ordinance (NRO), saying this was not the “right occasion” to get into such subjects. The former Army chief also said he, as the then-president, had merely advised the appointment of Salmaan Taseer as governor of Punjab from a list of few names given to him.
Commenting on if the mindset of India towards Pakistan was different today than it was when he was in power Musharraf said the relations between the two countries suffered due to a trust deficit. Musharraf said a lot of ground had been made when he was in power, but the recent incidents of violence (Mumbai attacks and the attack on the Sri Lankan cricket team in Lahore) have further hurt the trust deficit, and there is a need for interaction to continue despite such acts of sabotage so that the distortion, lack of understanding and misperceptions on both sides of the border are not strengthened.
Musharraf said he had told the Indian media that there was a lot of distortion in their country and advised them not to create war hysteria. He also said he had answered questions about the possibility of surgical strikes into Pakistan by India quite bluntly by saying it will most certainly lead to confrontation. Both sides need to be sensible, he urged, adding war hysteria by the media makes the public on both sides of the border become antagonistic towards the other, which is not desirable.
He stressed the need to resolve all areas of dispute between the two countries if confrontation was to be ended in a sustainable manner. On the possibility of forums such as the India Today Conclave pressing for peace talks between India and Pakistan, the retired general said initiating talks was the prerogative of governments, but players such as the media and intellectuals could act as a pressure group in this regard.
Musharraf said he supported the establishment of Nizam-e-Adl, clarifying that the “understanding” in the NWFP was between the government and Sufi Muhammad, chief of the Tehrik-e-Nifaz-e-Shariat-e-Mohammadi (TNSM) and not between the government and the Taliban and other militants. Sufi Muhammad, he said, was just trying to bring peace in the valley by asking militants to lay down their arms and had the added influence of being the father-in-law of Swat militant leader Maulana Fazlullah.
Those backing the imposition of Nizam-e-Adl in the Swat valley and had come out in the streets in support of the system, he said, were not militants but the people of Swat themselves. Turning to history, he said the demand for Nizam-e-Adl was not a new one being put forward by the Taliban, but was something the people of the valley had wanted since 1969 so that justice could be dispensed quickly by Qazi Courts.
He dispelled the worried notion that the Shariah Law had been imposed in the NWFP and could spread across Pakistan. The countryís Constitution, he pointed out, says that no law repugnant to Islam can be passed; hence, Shariah was effectively always there in Pakistan which, he said, was after all an Islamic Republic.
He also claimed that when this idea was floated to him when he was in power, he asked its proponents to explain the design of the system. Back then, he added, it was demanded that the Qazi courts would have the final say and that its decisions could not be challenged by other courts in the land. Conversely, the recent deal, he further claimed, allows for the high courts and the Supreme Court to remain in the picture, which was a good thing because it would allow quick justice and also be in line with the law of the land.
“This should have been done in the sake of peace,” he said. This initiative, said Musharraf, is being taken by the Awami National Party (ANP) which had swept the polls in the Swat valley. The ANP are not Taliban, he said, adding the US needed to understand this while analysing the decision of the NWFP government to bring Nizam-e-Adl.
He also rubbished the view that Nizam-e-Adl was the result of a lack of will on the part of the Pakistan Army to tackle militancy in troubled areas. “Do not talk about will,” he retorted to a question. The armed forces have been able to overrun Bajaur and Mohmand and dispel militants, claimed the former Army chief, adding the armed forces were now active in North and South Waziristan battling militancy.
“You cannot just open up all fronts,” said Musharraf. He also said he was absolutely opposed to cross-border attacks on Pakistani territory, by anyone, including the US use of drones but hastened to add Pakistan found itself in a “Catch-22” situation, and he was for concrete use of force in the troubled regions which, he said, was full of foreigners that were using Pakistan’s soil for their militant activities.
These foreigners, he said, comprised Uzbeks, Afghans and even Chinese. “Why are they there?” he questioned rhetorically. He recalled that even the Chinese government had talked to Pakistan about the possibility of a terrorist attack during the Olympic Games (hosted by China in 2008) by elements in the troubled border regions of Pakistan. It is a matter of great shame that a close friend like China has to say such things to us, he said, adding throughout the world Pakistan was being given a bad name by these militants and extremists.
“They say the Army has terrorists, the ISI has terrorists,” he said, adding Pakistan must “finish” and “kill” these elements to save itself and its name and that the state cannot survive in a vacuum.
The former president also said the country is passing through a difficult phase at the moment, confronted by security threats, law and order threats, political uncertainty and an economic crisis. It is the responsibility of the government to safeguard these fronts.
Both internal and external security threats, which Musharraf said was the first priority of the state, was the responsibility of the armed forces of Pakistan, and in particular that of the Army chief.
It is the Army chief’s responsibility to do what he has to do to ensure security and also that of the ISI, he said, but parried a question about what the COAS would or should do, saying it was his (Gen Kayani’s) decision.
He implored the media and the nation that instead of maligning, they should support the Army and the ISI, which he described as the “backbone of the country”. “A strong Army means a strong Pakistan,” he emphasised.
He also rejected criticism for holding the presidential elections while he was in uniform in 2007, saying he had followed the Constitution completely.
Giving details of his trip to India, the former COAS said he was thankful to the Indian government and the India Today Conclave for giving him the sort of protocol, reception and security given to a head of state, despite the fact that he had gone there in the capacity of a common Pakistani citizen. He said he was also fine with the security provided to him by the present government in Pakistan, quipping, however, that he could also “defend himself” if need be.
He congratulated the India Today Conclave for holding such a high-profile and successful event with impressive arrangements. Providing more details on his trip to India, he said he visited the Jamia Masjid, the shrine of Nizamuddin Aulia as well as Qutub Minar.
Continuation of PPP govt to augur well for country: Musharraf
He will be history.