In A Plane With Pervez Musharraf’s Mother

Mr. Riaz Khan

(Mr. Riaz Khan is a retired senior bureaucrat. On Aug. 19, he happened to share the same flight with former President Musharraf’s mother and elder brother from Islamabad to Karachi.)

“Dear Friends of Pakistan & of President Musharraf, I want to share my personal experience of Wednesday while coming on 3.00 PM PIA flight from ISL to Karachi. I was travelling in Economy Plus & had a window seat. A elderly lady in the same row on Aile seat sat who was assisted by a dignified man, I immediately recognized that she was Musharraf’s mother & the man resembled like Musharraf although little thinner.

In the front row was our bull dog looking finance minister Shaukat Tareen seated. Once the plane took off, I offered my respect to the lady & told her that how much we love his son. The person sitting next to me was Musharraf’s elder brother, who is settled in Rome. Guys, he was such a humble and nice man that I cannot find words to explain him. We knew lot of mutual friends and talked during the flight. Besides, I mentioned to Musharraf mother about my father in law, while her husband was posted in Ankara & surprisingly she remembered the names of my sister in laws and mother in law. There was no protocol, no special treatment except wheel chair as offered to ordinary PIA passengers at KHI airport.

Our bull dog Finance Minister did not had the courtesy to say hello to the aged lady. Outside the airport was Ayala, president’s daughter to receive them. Can you imagine this happening to any of our other leaders, who had ruled the country for 9 years. One of my friend, who knows Musharraf very well visited him in his modest two bed room flat in London and was invited for dinner at his place. I was told that he was laying the table for dinner himself & was extremely happy, content and satisfied with life. There were no regrets or ill feelings against anybody & his only concern was Pakistan. Aren’t we an unfortunate nation to lose a remarkable person like him & replace him with the likes of AAZ, NS & SS?”

Source: Pakistan Daily

Musharraf is padding to play another innings, on front foot

Zahid Malik

Islamabad—The assertive youth of the world are in a defiant mood. Very casually dressed tourists were spending and enjoying. But the Britshers themselves were not spending much. Economic depression of 2008, and now, much criticized, rather tremendously abhorred, involvement of Britain’s Armed Forces in the “unwinnable” war in Afghanistan was putting some what unbearable strain on British dwindling economy. The locals were not in a “feel good” state of mind. But Pakistanis looked comparatively more depressive. The Pakistanis of all walks of life, whom I met during my one-week stay in London, were extremely critical and disappointed over their motherland’s present set-up on three counts:

1. There is no governance not to call of good governance in our country, where we would like to be buried despite all that.

2. The Federation of Pakistan is getting more fragile with danger of Balkanization.

3. The increasing distancing of two trusted friends of Pakistan thus fast eroding of Pakistan’s strategic interests.

General Pervez Musharraf:

Contrary to public perception here in Pakistan, the new abode of the former President, 28 Castleacre, is just 3-bed modest apartment. Not luxuriously decorated. It is a ten-storey building with three apartments on each floor. Some prominent Pakistanis like Mr Aftab Sherpao, and Lt Gen (Retd) Zahid Ali Akbar, former Chairman WAPDA, have apartments of their own in another building about 100 yards away as pointed out to me by the former President, while we were looking the surroundings through a window of his apartment. Mr. Rehman Malik, the strongman of the Government and Sir Anwar Parvez, a Pakistani business tycoon have comfortable residences in two adjoining buildings. Thus the area of General Musharraf’s new abode can be described as 5% Gulbarg, Lahore of Pakistan, while Mr. Shaukat Aziz has an elegant apartment in a posh all-gora sector.

General Pervez Musharraf was a refreshing model of strong commitment, unwavering confidence, and with usual commando exuberance. My two-hour long interaction with General Pervez Musharraf convinced me that he was all willing to play another innings in Pakistan and that too on the front foot. He totally and stubbornly rejects all awkward bouncers, some of which may injure him.

The former President is convinced that all of his Presidential actions were taken after due consideration and on the basis of “Pakistan first”. Some of the top Grade 22 politicians of Pakistan, belonging to various political parties, but mostly with PML (Q) identity, are in touch with him on a regular basis. Many politicians who are somebody in the Pakistani political set-up call on him when they visit London and all of them have to wait for a day or two to fix an appointment. Fast track meetings are possible only if one routes through Mr Shaukat Aziz who is in touch with his former “boss” on a 24-hour basis.

The former President is thinking in terms of forming a new Muslim League Party which may take all splinter groups of Muslim League, under his wings. “Pir Sahib has assured me that his hurs will enthusiastically receive me at the airport whenever I return to Pakistan”, General Musharraf told me. Even Makhdoom Amin Fahim had a candle – light dinner with him at Dubai when both of them were in UAE to attend the fabulous marriage party of the son of Mr Sadaruddin Hashwani, fondly known as Sadru.

However, it is pertinent to mention that the former President is not likely to come back in the near future. He has an enviable statesman clout in many countries. Khadim Al-Haramain Al-Sharifain powerful King Abdullah has extended him an invitation to visit the Kingdom as his personal guest. He is also scheduled to deliver 14 lectures at various establishments in USA where Henry Kissinger, a former US Secretary of State, will be a co-speaker in some of the engagements. General Pervez Musharraf has acquired a status of an accomplished, par excellence speaker, who speaks with courage and conviction. So, to be brief, he will in the near future not he back to Pakistan because of his impending international engagements.

I wish some of our single-track revengeful politicians in Pakistan must have risen above their self and the former President, who enjoys tremendous respectability abroad, should have been “pardoned” and informally integrated with in the state institutions as a trouble shooter abroad if and when situation so demanded.

Read full report at “Pakistan Observer”. Click here.

“IN THE LINE OF FIRE” – REMINISCENCES

Posted by Mr. Ahmad  Subhani

ISLAMABAD – Pakistan: Our country is beset with a peculiar phenomenon, that is, sitting governments usually ascribe most of their failures and difficulties to the policies and practices followed by their preceding regimes. The same has happened in the case of former President, Pervez Musharraf. It has been alleged by the incumbent Govt, that the difficulties and intractable problems that it is encountering, is the fall out of Musharraf’s era Prima facie, most of the allegations made are either fabricated while the rest have been blown out of all proportion. During Pervez Musharraf’’s  reign, Pakistan  registered phenomenal progress in all spheres of  national activity, so much so, that in his days, Pakistan’s economy was rated as the second fastest growing economy in Asia and was considered to be nearing the “ take off “ stage.

This scribe, who has closely witnessed  “ the ebbs and flows “ that this nation has gone through in its sixty-two years  checkered history, and as an impartial observer ( having no links or affiliation with any political group or party ever ), considers myself as  qualified enough to judge un-biased, whatever has transpired during this period. However, in this write up, I would like to confine myself to the Musharraf era—–1999 onwards. Having gone through his speeches, statements and actions, I have found him a straight forward, truthful, honest and courageous man. One may differ from his policies and performance, yet no one in his right frame of mind can call him corrupt or unpatriotic. In his memoirs, “In the Line of Fire”, he has described in his usual forthright style, how he has faced awkward situations and solved intractable problems during his eight -year rule. Reproduced, here-under, are extracts from his said memoirs covering important events that took place during his tenure: —

PERSONAL  TRAITS :- I dedicate this book to the people of Pakistan—–those who toil, sacrifice, and pray for their country and who wait patiently for a better future. They deserve a committed, selfless leadership, which can help them realize their boundless potential.  A metamorphosis took place in me in the first months and years after Partition. An uprooted little boy found earth that was natural to him. He took root in it for ever. I would protect that earth with my life. (P.-18)

I said that I was very sorry and it would not happen again……all he said was,   “OK, never do it again” and let me go. That is when I learnt the power of truth that has never left me. (P-34)

First, I have seen for myself that honesty—even under adversity, even if it could lead to a negative outcome—- always disarm the other person. Second, truthfulness is a sine qua non of good character. Third, contentment with whatever I have possessed or achieved, has kept me from greed or over ambition. I was fortunate to rise as far as I did, but I would have been content if my fortunes were different. (P 329)

9 / 11  EVENTS :- Powell was quite candid: “You are either with us or against us”. I took this as a blatant ultimatum…..I told him that we were with the United States against terrorism, having suffered (ourselves)  from it for years……the next day, our director general of Inter Services Intelligence……told me on the phone about his meeting with the Deputy Secretary of State, Richard Armitage. In what has to be the most un-diplomatic statement ever made, Armitage….told the director general…..that if we chose the terrorists, then we should be prepared to be bombed back to the Stone Age. (P 201)

WAR  ON  TERROR :- Pakistan’s decision to support the global war on terror was based on its own interests. There is no reason why we would not do enough for ourselves. In fact, Pakistan is the only country in the world that has done the maximum in the fight against terrorism (P 271). The United States and Europe too often equate all militancy with terrorism; in particular, they equate the struggle for freedom in Indian—held Kashmir with terrorism. Pakistan has always rejected this broad- brushed treatment (P 332). No one else’s bomb is called Hindu, Jewish, Christian, Capitalist or Communist, yet somehow our bomb becomes “Islamic”. As if it makes it illegitimate. This idea is illogical and essentially racist. This is an example of how Muslims continually feel unjustifiably singled out and alienated. (P 286)

KARGIL :- It was not credible for a prime minister to claim that something like Kargil could happen without his knowledge ( P 109 ). One myth is that the operation was launched without the army taking the political leadership into confidence. This is a very unfortunate perception, because nothing can be farther from the truth……As the operation developed, he (Nawaz Sharif) was briefed by the director general of military operations on May, 17. Later, briefings were arranged on June 2 and June 22. A second myth is that the military situation on the ground was precarious, and the prime minister dashed to Washington to get the army out of it.  This disinformation is a much bigger lie. In their two months of operations, the Indians came no where near the watershed and our main defense. (P 96)

AIRCRAFT  EPISODE :- The pilot had informed him (military secretary)  that our plane was not being allowed to land  at any airfield in Pakistan and was being ordered  to get out of Pakistan’s air space immediately.. Only one hour and ten minutes’ fuel remained. (P 102).  No one below the prime minister:  could give such a drastic order. Sacking an army chief is one thing; but hijacking his plane and sending him to India is, as I said, diabolical. (P 103)

ARMY  CHIEF AS ARBITRATOR :- I  saw then how national personalities—–including opposition politicians—– regularly visited the army chief to encourage him to oppose the sitting  Govt…….whenever any Govt. was performing poorly ( unfortunately that was the norm in the “ democratic decade “ of the1990s ) or was in political trouble, all roads led to  the army GHQ. During this decade, whenever there was acrimony between the president and the prime minister, the army chief would be sucked into the fray. He was expected by all and sundry, including the antagonists, to act as an arbitrator.  (P 77)

ARMY  TAKE OVER /  MARTIAL  LAW :-  Our past experience had amply  demonstrated that martial law damages not only the military but also civil institutions……. We all wanted to ensure that this would be the last time the army was forced to assume leadership of the country. We had to set in place a system under which future army take overs would be all but impossible. (P 143-44)

CONSTITUTION :-  In retrospect, I believe that my  decision not to abrogate the constitution and not to impose martial law were both correct.. (P 152)

DEMOCRACY :- I ardently believe that no country can progress without democracy, but democracy has to be tailored in accordance with each nation’s peculiar environment. (P 154). If democracy is to be functional and sustainable, it has to be tailored to local conditions. In Pakistan, we had too many elections that only empowered an elite class whose primary objective is, to preserve, protect and fortify its privileges even at the cost of the country and neglect of its people. (P 155) ….. What we in Pakistan have consciously constructed, in stead, is a rule by a small elite class never democrat….. working with a tribal—feudal mind-set, “in the name of  people”  with a democratic camouflage. (P 154)

EXTREMISM :- At our core, the people of Pakistan are  religious and moderate….. only a small fringe of population is extremist. This fringe holds rigid or orthodox, even obscurantist and intolerant views about religion. The problem arises when it wants to impose its rigid, dogmatic views on others. This fringe is not only militant and aggressive, but also can be indoctrinated into terrorism. (P 277). To-day, the central masses are confused about where Islam actually stands……They need to be drawn away from the cleric’s obscurantist views, toward the enlightened, progressive, moderate message of Islam. (P 278)

ACHIEVEMENTS :-  History judges leaders by results. Let my results do the talking through a look at what I inherited in 1999, and what we achieved by 2005. All macroeconomic indicators became positive. In 1999, we were on the verge of default. The dreaded word “failed state” was on every one’s lips. The economy is (now) on upsurge. Our gross domestic product (GDP) has risen from $ 65 billion to $ 125 billion. The growth in GDP rose from 3.1 % to healthy 8.4 %…..our over all foreign debt has been reduced from 39 billion to 36 billion…..Per capita income has risen from $ 460 to $800. We are now in the middle income category of countries- up from the low income category. Foreign exchange reserves have risen from a paltry $ 300 million to $ 12.5 billion….Exports are hitting at $17 billion for 2006’ whereas they were only $ 7.8 billion in 1999……Revenue collection has increased from $ 5.1 billion to $ 11.7 billion    Remittances jumped 400 % from $ 1 billion to over $ 4 billion….The 100 index of Karachi Stock Exchange which had remained under 1000 points, has become constantly bullish rising to over 11500 p0ints in 2006 (P 191—92)

AFTER  PERVEZ  MUSHARRAF :- “ In the Line of Fire” was published in 2006. Till then, the ship of the state was cruising forth smoothly with flying colours. However, in 2007, certain crucial events turned the tide against him. These were promptly exploited to the hilt by the opposition parties and their cohorts. Benazir Bhutto’s assassination, then added fuel to the fire. Said mishaps eroded Musharraf’s popularity considerably and eventually led to his exit from the corridors of power in 2008. However, the change, as subsequent events proved, was catastrophic for Pakistan and its people. The performance of the newly elected “democratic” government, who came into power for more than one and a half years ago, has proved to be disastrous. All economic indicators that were positive in the previous government’s time have turned negative. Economy has nose-dived so rapidly and to such an extent, that Pakistan has been labeled as one of the ten failed states in the World. In the face of such gloomy circumstances, the attitude of the ruling junta and its allies is simply flabbergasting. Instead of tackling the fast deteriorating all-pervading conditions, especially the economic which has crushed the masses under the iron wheels of ever-increasing poverty, unemployment, deprivation and host of other issues that demand Government’s prompt attention and immediate remedial measures, Govt. functionaries, particularly, Nawaz Sharif and his lieutenants, are persisting with the demand that Pervez Musharraf be put on trial, come what may. Why Nawaz Sharif is so insistent on this trial, seems to be for two reasons; One- It, in fact, is a case of personal vendetta on his part since he was ousted from power by Musharraf in 1999 as a result of the notorious aircraft episode which was Nawaz Sharif’s own doing, Second- To divert attention of desperate and disillusioned teeming millions from their present agonizing plight.

May Allah, in his benevolent mercy, save Pakistan by providing it with competent leadership that could steer the nation towards its true destiny, as envisioned by its founding fathers, the Quaid-e-Azam and Allama Iqbal.

Musharraf Supporters Alliance – Pro Musharraf rally in UK

Musharraf Supporters Alliance – Pro Musharraf rally in UK

Former President Musharraf failed in the most basic task the Pakistani people expected of him: To reform the destructive Pakistani politics. He shunned good advice, allied with the corrupt and then passed NRO, bringing to power all those who were tried, tested and discredited in the 1990s. For educated Pakistanis to spend money from their own pockets to come down to London and rally in Mr. Musharraf’s support, it means something. Mr. Nawaz Sharif and Mr. Asif Zardari would have to pay money to organize such events and even then they wouldn’t attract most educated middle class Pakistanis. So why these people are spending their own money to organize this event? It basically shows how disappointed most Pakistanis have become with the politics and the political system in their homeland. Nowhere else in the world are politics so violent, destructive and monopolized by a few like they are in Pakistan. (Ahmed Quraishi)

By Farah Mazhar (UK)

Thank you very much for yesterday. I think it was a brilliant effort and display of passion for President Musharraf.

It was organized by a small group of volunteers, The Musharraf Supporters Alliance UK.

I was really amazed by the enthusiasm of many who had travelled from various Universities and other cities just by receiving the message from the Internet.

There were people from all walks of life, particularly the elderly who said they had huge concerns regarding Pakistan and who criticized the leadership of Zardari and Nawaz and CJ Chaudhry. They also criticized the meddling of Britain’s Lord Nazir in Pakistani politics.

They further said it is their concern for Pakistan that has brought them out and to the street. They consider Musharraf has a thought process and grip on all the national and international challenges Pakistan faces at present.

Most of the people were politically aware, disillusioned at the current situation of Pakistan and tired of seeing a new chapter of the ‘tug of war’ politics of Nawaz, CJ Chaudhry, Zardari and their joint revenge policies against Musharraf, who had a reconciliatory approach towards all of them.

It was heartening to see many young ladies and their support for Musharraf. It is for the first time that educated young students from Pakistan came to support a political leader. Norm of Pakistani society is that women just support or attend the rally where ever their father or brother accompanies them.

Yesterday I think every individual who came there had made a sacrifice of their time, faced the delays of London Underground, spent money from their pockets and came to support Musharraf without getting any benefit out of it. Whereas the rallies organized by Nawaz and PPP are funded from the pockets of their party ‘owner-leaders’.

Yesterdays protest was fuelled with passion of Musharraf Supporters. Remind you the call for this rally did not come from Pervez Musharraf.

Everyone present considered Musharraf a moderate leader who facilitated democracy and the core message was ,

“Musharraf might be in uniform when he took the office but in past eight years he has transformed and emerged as a mature politician. Despite the manner in which both Nawaz and Zardari won votes, there is every likelihood that people still would like to see Musharraf back into power.”

Media people asked some interesting questions one of them being

1. Do you Support what Musharraf did at Lal Masjid?

Response was: If whatever happened at Red Mosque was wrong than whatever action present government is taking in Swat is wrong If Swat is right now then Red Mosque was right as well.

2. The most asked question was: Do you support a dictator?

The response was different but two versions I will quote:

a. Musharraf was never a dictator. Musharraf gave us freedom of expression and civil liberties.

b. We would never support military rule but during Musharraf’s reign, it was not military rule.

Musharraf was more of a civil general and much better than the dictatorial and autocratic Nawaz and Zardari who like act and behave as dictators and crave absolute powers.

Also there was a visible shift in people’s thoughts and their perception. A realization is growing that a democracy under PPP and Nawaz is worse than Musharraf’s rule. Therefore, they support Musharraf.

There were people from working class as well who attended the rally.

Source: Town 9 Times

A question for the PML-N

Friday, August 14, 2009
The PML-N has just released its draft of the proposed 18th Amendment. To begin with it is quite surprising to note that it does not repeal the 17th Amendment which has been a popular rallying cry for the PML-N. In fact a closer look at the proposed draft gives one the impression that most of Musharraf’s constitutional amendments have been spared and hence endorsed.

Quite intriguingly, the PML-N has also proposed the deletion of sub-clauses, h, i, j, p, q r and s of Article 63 (1). I say intriguing because for example Article 63(1)(q) disqualifies a person from being elected to parliament if he or his spouse or any dependent has had bank loans of more than two million rupees written off. Now my question to the PML-N is that why would it want deletion of this otherwise worthy sub-clause?

Danyal Aziz
Rawalpindia

Source: The News

PAKISTAN-A SHIP WITHOUT HELMSMAN

By Mr. Ahmad Subhani

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan—How truthful it has been stated that, “before the creation of Pakistan, there was a statesman without a state; today there exists a state without statesmen. The difference between a politician and a statesman is that the politician thinks of the next election, whereas the statesman thinks of the next generation; a politician looks for the success of his party, the statesman for that of his country. Lastly, a politician never means what he says and never says what he means, but a statesman says what he means and means what he says.”  The foregoing description truly mirrors the condition that has prevailed in Pakistan since its inception. Its founder, Quaid-e-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah was a great statesman and acknowledged so by all those who knew him. The leaders that followed him fit in the description of ‘leader’ as given in the above quotation. Leaving aside the distant past, let us glance through the credentials of the current two major political contenders to the power, namely, Pakistan Peoples Party and Muslim League (Nawaz). Incidentally, both these parties have remained at the helm of affairs, twice in succession during the period 1988 to 1999. PPP is again in power since the year 2008. For brevity sake, I have ventured to recollect here only the salient features of their self-acclaimed “accomplishments” during their tenure to refresh the memory of worthy readers in this respect.

Late Benazir Bhutto, Chair-person of the Peoples Party held the reins of her office during 1988 to 1990 and then again from 1993 to 1996. She was dismissed from office by the then President primarily on the charge of corruption. President Ghulam Ishaq Khan also alleged that she had maintained close friendship with the Indian Prime Misnister, Rajev Gandhi; had links with RAW and had betrayed the ‘Khalsa Movement’ by providing names of important sikh leaders of the movement to the Indian Govt. In 1996, President Laghari dismissed her on charges of mismanagement, nepotism and corruption. In those days it was openly talked about that she and her husband, Asif Ali Zardari were robbers; though born with silver spoon in mouth, yet they looted and plundered the national treasury with both hands and transferred the looted money to their accounts in the foreign banks; also they had purchased property and assets worth billion of dollars abroad with the ill-gotten money.

The oft-repeated claim of P.P.P. leaders including Benazir Bhutto, that they had promoted democratic culture in the country is a complete hoax. Apart from her persistent dictatorial stance in her day to day dealings with fellow countrymen that bordered on fascism, she never conducted in-party elections; nominations were the normal course of action. She readily accepted the life- chairmanship of the party without any qualms. Last but not the least, she in her “will”, nominated her husband to be her successor party chairman, as if this all was a dynastic rule. Thus democracy was confined to only holding of elections.

Coming to Nawaz Sharif, he held office of the Prime Minister from 1990 to 1993 and then from 1997 to 1999. In 1993, he was dismissed by the President on charges of corruption, nepotism and incompetence. In 1999, he was ousted by the then Army Chief, General Pervez Musharraf when Nawaz Sharif tried to eliminate him from the scene by not allowing the aircraft by which Musharraf was returning from Sri Lanka, to land any where in Pakistan. But for the timely intervention of the army the crash of the plane could not have been averted because the plane had run short of fuel and was not at all in a position to fly outside of Pakistan. In fact, it was the third attempt on the part of Nawaz Sharif  to have complete control  and hold over the destiny of the nation. Earlier on, he had  gotten rid of the former Army Chief, Gen. Karamat and former Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Pakistan by underhand means.

The  three “ achievements” of which Nawaz Sharif has been boasting here there and every where are promotion of :-1 Democracy ; 2 Independent Judiciary ;and 3 Freedom of Press. Let us examine this claim on the altar of ground realities. When talking of independence of judiciary, Nawaz’s confrontation with the judiciary readily comes to mind. In 1997, the then Chief Justice of the Supreme Court held Nawaz Sharif in contempt of court for passing derogatory  remarks against him and other judges. This episode created a riot in the Supreme Court that eventually led to the Chief Justice’s resignation. Nawaz Sharif had unleashed his entire propaganda machinery to undermine independence of judiciary. He had no patience for independent judges and tried to replace those who disagreed with him. The judges under the political influence, used to pass the judgments first and hear the witnesses later. His political workers and goons physically attacked the Supreme Court, abused the judges and indulged in violence and made the judges flee the court room to save their lives. It, therefore, sounds amusing to hear from the “tamer of the democracy” that his “first order if he returns to power would be to restore the deposed judges.”

As for democracy, the champion of democracy repeatedly trampled the same by issuing draconian laws like “Ehtisab Accountability Law” under which a number of opposition leaders were arrested and detained on fake charges.  “Anti Terrorism Act” empowered the law enforcement agencies to kill a person on mere suspicion and conduct search operations without warrants. This turned the country into a police state. Military courts were set up for the trial of civilians. To reinforce his authority further and to ensure his rule for an indefinite period, a new Islamic order by imposing Shariat (15^th Constitutional Amendment) was promulgated enabling him assume unbridled powers as “Amirul Mominin”. All this smacked of establishing ‘theocratic fascism’ in Pakistan.

He now talks of ‘press freedom’ which he tried to curb soon after his assumption of office as Prime Minister. by promulgating ‘Registration of  Printing Press and Publishing Ordinance 1977 which authorized magistrates and sub-inspectors to initiate action including forfeitures of newspaper copies without judicial review and restraint. This led to harassment and intimidation of journalists. Fundamental rights were suspended by imposing a state of emergency in the country, apparently aimed at freezing foreign currency accounts of the people which drastically undermined domestic and foreign investors’ confidence, an idea of which can be had from the fact that almost 13 billion dollars in the FCAS evaporated in no time. His claim to have left a peaceful and progressive Pakistan behind, is a cruel joke played on this nation. All economic social and security parameters had been relegated to the worst ever position when he left.

Finally,Pakistan’s history pertaining to the period from 1988 to 1999 and then since 2008 is a witness to the fact that Nawaz Sharif , Benazir Bhutto and Asif Ali Zardari have proved to be the spoilers of democracy   and betrayers of peoples’ trust, hopes and aspirations. At present, no other leader of substance is visible who could steer the ship of the state out of the troubled waters to shores of safety. Ex.-President, Pervez Musharraf (1999—2008), did illuminate the dark horizon of our country for a while, when his stupendous efforts and pragmatic approach salvaged the sinking economy and put it on even keel. He brought about remarkable upturn in all spheres of national life and earned acclaim and approbation nationally and internationally. But certain crucial mistakes committed by him during 2007

Onwards which were blown out of all proportions and exploited to the hilt by his adversaries forced his exit from the scene. Now, no body can say when another rescuer like him would surface, to guide the destiny of this virtually lost nation to a successful and vibrant future.

Where were the lawyers then?

Pakistani President Musharraf ends visit to Norway

Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf has ended his two-day official visit to Norway, and returns home Wednesday. Tuesday evening the President was guest of honour at a dinner hosted by the Norwegian government. In a lecture at the Norwegian Nobel Institute on Tuesday, President Musharraf criticized the US attack on a village in northern Pakistan on January 13th.

– Only Pakistani forces can fight in Pakistan. This I have made quite clear to the US, Musharraf said.

He saw himself as a reformer who took over power in Pakistan because the Paksitani society was on the brink of collapse.

– Democracy never functioned in Pakistan. My aim is to form a sustainable democracy through giving power to the local society, to the women and to the minorities, through a free press and a sharing of power, President Musharraf said.

The visitor has been met several times during his visit by demonstrators who criticised Musharraf’s rule in Pakistan.

(NRK)

Rolleiv Solholm

Source: http://www.norwaypost.no

Musharraf – my commander

(Monday, August 03, 2009)

It has now become fashionable to find faults with the former president and the print media is full of sensational stories and this has prompted me to write this. What hurts me is criticism of General Musharraf in the man’s absence. Where are his friends and colleagues who helped him overthrow Nawaz Sharif’s government and devised ways and means to ensure that his regime last for as long as it did. I first met the general when I was commanding a battalion in Kharian and where Musharraf was corps commander. He called all the commanding officers of his formation and spoke to them in a very clear manner telling them what the army expected from the formation and how he would conduct his job and carry out his responsibilities. He was absolutely clear and set excellent operational objectives and it was obvious that he was someone who led from the front.

The corps commander designed a battle course spread over three days. My battalion was the first one to implement this concept and the late Lt-Gen Jamshed Gulzar Kayani was the general officer commanding. I had to give a presentation and was understandably quite nervous but General Musharraf was so charismatic and forthright that I felt at ease. He listened to the briefing with rapt attention and said that theoretically it was fine but had to be tested in the field. He remained awake with us throughout the night to observe the exercise and this was a rewarding experience for all of us. I did observe, however, that he likes to be pampered and trusts his subordinates blindly.

After serving one year in Kharian, I was posted to an important desk at GHQ. During my time there I found him to have an excellent grasp of issues and that he had immense love for his subordinates. He was very kind and magnanimous by nature and I remember during his visit to formations after Kargil that he would listened to very pointed criticism. In one of such gatherings a young officer was very harsh with him but the general listened to him politely. He was a corps commander par excellence. However, he was also very ambitious, vulnerable to praise and perhaps too trusting.

I will not defend him for breaching merit but these are compulsions of dictators all over the world. Let me ask a few questions, however. For instance, could he have planned and executed Kargil single-handedly? Where are his staff and commanders? Could he take over all by himself? Who helped him organise and carry out the referendum? Who elected him president in uniform and who pledged that they would do it again, and again? Those people who were part and parcel of all this need to come forward and bear part of the blame for what happened.

For me he was the most inspiring commander in my service and I still cherish his excellent leadership traits.

Brig (r) Asif Alvi, Karachi

Source: http://www.thenews.com.pk

Protest in London in Support of Musharraf

Assalam Alaikum

Many Musharraf Supporters requested we organise a protest in support and defense of Musharraf. We have done precisely this and request all Pakistanis based in Britain to join us on 16 August at the above mentioned location for a peaceful protest outside the Pakistan High Commission. If you support Musharraf then you MUST come out.

This is the time to express and show your support for Musharraf, a man who did so much for Pakistan over the past 8 years. The least you can do is come out with your family and friends and say you admire Musharraf. The former President is being attacked and maligned daily by overly biased and sold out anchors and by known corrupt politicians. As if this was not enough, now Iftikhar Chaudhry and other members of the Judiciary being fully controlled by Nawaz Sharif are also playing an active role in extracting their petty revenge from Musharraf.

Enough is enough. If the above state of affairs depresses you and makes you sad, angry and annoyed, then you MUST assemble with us on August 16 outside the Pakistan High Commission in London.

On the internet so many people make constant demands for protests and rallies. Then on the big day itself, usually a minuscule number of these people participate in the event. Lets not allow this to occur. Such an outcome will only hurt the cause of Musharraf.

If there is even a slight bit of support, admiration and compassion in your heart for Musharraf, someone who did so much for Pakistan, then you WILL come out on August 16.

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