Strong praise from one of Pakistan’s top editors:
Jugnu Mohsin: Newspaper Editor
Jugnu Mohsin, publisher of the Friday Times newspaper, one of Pakistan’s leading liberal newspapers, explores the personal contradictions of Musharraf and the complexities of his policies.
Why now? Why is President Musharraf trying to make amends?
Well, I think there was an inevitability about what’s happening in Pakistan. … I think that events post-9/11 have sort of telescoped everything and shortened the time frame and increased the urgency of many, many things that would have happened in the natural course of things over some years, and with plenty of hiccups and lots of heartache.
I think I may be being very unconventional here, but I’ll say to you: 9/11 has been very good for Pakistan. It’s been good for Pakistan because suddenly, overnight, we had to choose which way we want to go. And I think that the good thing is that those who run the country, the “establishment,” which is a euphemism for the Pakistan army … felt that perhaps … they could carry on supporting the Taliban while wishing to be friends with the West, while negotiating loans with the IMF, while doing business with the World Bank, while talking peace with India, while stoking the Kashmir jihad.
Those were mutually contradictory things, and 9/11 made them choose: Which way do you want to go? Are you with us or are you against us? Although I don’t approve of George Bush’s “with us or against us” philosophy … for Pakistan it translated into something positive.
And I think that General Musharraf seized the opportunity. He was decisive; he didn’t lose any time; he didn’t dillydally; he didn’t do “ifs” and “buts” or this and that. Because that would have cost Pakistan, it really would have. And so the state decided to dump the Taliban … not a moment too soon. And they didn’t make the link at that time – that … jihadis are jihadis are jihadis. Whether they’re Taliban jihadis or Kashmiri jihadis, they’re all of a certain bent of mind and … they have a certain worldview. And so I think it was inevitable that following the Pakistan army’s 180-degree turn on Afghanistan, it would have to do something similar on Kashmir and would also … talk peace with India. … It has worked out well for Pakistan. Because we’ve seen our reserves increasing very, very substantially. We’ve seen our economy picking up. We’ve seen real estate prices, stock exchange prices, generally confidence returning to Pakistan. And I think this is all because Pakistan’s establishment, led by General Musharraf, has aligned itself unequivocally with the global community
In terms of President Musharraf, do you think … the assassination attempts were somewhat linked to his policies or his offer of friendship to India in any way?
I don’t think it’s linked to his offer of friendship to India. But if you see Musharraf’s policies in a totality … I think that what he is up against is a group of people who have Pakistan going down the route it was going down pre-9/11. The jihadis really had a free hand, both in Afghanistan, Taliban-controlled Afghanistan, and across the Line of Control in Kashmir. And sometimes, I think, across the international borders in India, as in the storming of the Indian parliament. And various other … adventures which were very costly for the Pakistani state. But I think at that time, there wasn’t the will to tackle these issues. I think, to give General Musharraf credit, he did see the opportunity and in a way he proved his liberal credentials and his credentials as a modern pragmatic man by saying that he would not further jeopardize the security of his country by following the adventurous policies that had laid us low.
Do you think Musharraf is in a very tough position right now? Do you think anyone else would have been able to do a better job or do you think he’s doing the best he can, given the circumstances?
Well, you know, when I used to be in school and my report used to come home every year … on it was the perennial remark “could do better.” … And I think if I had to give General Musharraf a report card, I would write “could do better” on it, year after year. Yeah, he could do better.
The thing is that I think he is a sort of a liberal, regular guy. I have a great deal of admiration for his mother, who has been a career woman all her life. She has worn a sari in Pakistan, and in an Islamic state, a sari is seen an emblem of … India, Hinduism … I mean she’s quite brave and open about it.
Then the other thing which I think is significant is that he spent many of his formative childhood years in Turkey. And he once made a “mistake” of saying to the press that he thought that Mustafa Kemal Pasha [the founder of the modern secular Turkish Republic], otherwise known as Ataturk, was his hero. Of course he had to eat his words after that. But I do think that in his heart he is a liberal person. His raised his children, for example, very well. Both kids have married of their own choice, which is wonderful in this country of arranged marriages, you know.
He has a very supportive wife; they have a good relationship. I think that he has respect for women and I think that is reflective of how he has brought up his daughter. She’s a professional; she’s an architect; she lives in Karachi; she is accessible. All of these things, I don’t know how you feel about this, Sharmeen, but as a woman these things are [more] telling sometimes than where you were educated or what degree you have … what your traditional background is. I think these things are the making of a person.
Also, [Musharraf] has risen through the army not because he is a Punjabi connected to some influential clan, but on merit. Because he’s from … what we call an Urdu-speaking background, i.e., the son of migrants from India. And he didn’t have a constituency to speak of. But he rose through the ranks because he was competent. …
I think temperamentally he is in line with the modern world … and that could be a blessing for Pakistan. Of course, he’s a dyed-in-the-wool soldier also and that’s where the contradiction lies. … He was molded in the ethos of the Pakistan army. So now he has to reconcile his personal temperament as a regular guy, as a liberal man who has very, very strong role models of women in his family, who has treated his daughter on par with his son. … On the other [hand], he’s a dyed-in-the-wool soldier. So he has to reconcile this contradiction within himself.
Also, the requirement of the age is reasonableness, integration, globalization, economic openness, right? And on the other hand is the ethos of the establishment, which is … security-obsessed and inward-looking and sort of based on [a] cold war system, where things were very compartmentalized. Now … the world is in flux. And that is why we see so many contradictions in Pakistan’s foreign policy.
Do you think that there would be a power vacuum if President Musharraf were to go tomorrow?
It would be a tragedy because Musharraf is somebody who has tried to tread the reasonable path. … In this country, at home, he has tried to keep his hands clean as far as internal politics are concerned … . I have several issues with what he has done and not done, but in the main he’s well intentioned. In the main he’s pragmatic and reasonable. He’s had a lot of practice now with real politics and the international community. And he has also parlayed with international leaders, so he has grown into his job and he knows what to do and what not to do, even though sometimes he takes his time over it. I think it would be tragic for Pakistan if at this juncture he wasn’t there to lead us. I think he must lead us to the other side … to the safe side. And then he must-- must – hand over to the mainstream political parties.
Because, really, the military has no business being in government. It must go back to the barracks. It must carry on doing what it is supposed to do and not meddle in public affairs. And civil society has to be strengthened, and the mainstream political parties. Musharraf should lead us to the safe side on the other side of the river. And then let us get on with our own lives.
