Musharraf`s earnings from lectures

There are some very prominent names on the panel of that society like Clinton, former president of the US, and Dr Mahathir Mohamad of Malaysia.

Clinton being the most expensive lecturer of that society charges $250,000 per lecture. Musharraf has been second highest lecturer now with $200,000 per lecture. Musharraf has been busy delivering lectures during the past one and a half years across the world.

He is booked for another six months as far as I know.

We can imagine how much he is earning from one lecture. It is unfortunate that we Pakistanis do not recognise his worth but the world does.

That is why they are paying him so heavily.

He in his last speech to the nation finished with a remark, “Pakistan ka Khuda he Hafiz”. Time has proved it.

HAMMAD KHALID

Karachi

Source:  DAWN

Political Science students probe Musharraf’s opinions in special class session

by Dan Anderson, Staff

Former President of Pakistan Pervez Musharraf talked about the qualities of leadership, the conflict in the Middle East and many other topics during an intense one-hour class session with International Relations students on Oct. 13.

Members of the  class, led by Jason Kirk, assistant professor of political science, had the opportunity to question Musharraf about a variety of issues. In comments about the qualities of effective leadership, he said that leaders must have sincerity, flexibility and courage to take bold actions. He said that two-thirds of decision-making is calculation, analysis and data-gathering, with the other one-third being a leap of faith. Good leaders know when they have enough information to act, Musharraff maintains.

He said leaders must also know when to go against public opinion, and said the United States faces that situation now in South Asia, amid rising calls for withdrawal of American armed forces. Musharraf says the public is wrong on that issue, and said that U.S. citizens need to be convinced that our nation’s withdrawal from the region could be a major blunder.

“What could happen if we were to leave an unstable Afghanistan – militarily, politically unstable?” Musharraf asked.

In comments on Muslim nations and others in the developing world, Musharraf called for a long-term view as those societies transform from rural and agrarian to modern and progressive. He said there is a culture clash in many nations as rural villagers move to cities.

“These rural people are less educated, they are not exposed to the world and they are much more backward than the urban minority,” Musharraf said. “The West needs to understand this … don’t be impatient, societies don’t change in ten years, they change in a hundred years.”

Some students in the class were surprised by Musharraf’s confidence and his willingness to treat them as equals and answer their questions thoroughly and thoughtfully.

“I was really interested in how he was discussing the sense of turmoil that would be left if the U.S. pulls out troops in 2011,” said first-year student Annie Clabby. “We would just be leaving another mess for them to clean up.”

Source: Elon University

Taliban – Afghan govt talks show US weakness: Musharraf

TEXAS: Former President Pervez Musharraf has termed the talks between Taliban and Afghan officials, a weakness of the United States as thousands of innocent Afghan could be saved had these talks been nine back.

Musharraf, while addressing the Asian Society Forum in Texas, said that had the world community recognise the Taliban government, thousands of innocent Afghans would not have been killed.

He said that American support towards the talks between Afghan officials and Taliban shows the weakness of the American policy launched nine years back, although moderate Taliban could be brought into the mainstream through the talks.

Musharraf made an appeal to Pakistanis settled in foreign countries to help him in taking the country out of difficulties. He said that Pakistan is facing a lack of leadership and he feels he can be the only one who can take the country out of troubled waters.

Source: Pak Tribune

Pervez Musharraf Seeks Support from Pakistani American Community

By Kalyani Giri

HOUSTON: His inherent faith unmistakable, former Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf began his speech with a benediction to Allah. Then, dapper in a dark suit instead of his trademark general’s regalia, he announced the formation of his new political party, the All Pakistan Muslim League (APML), and delineated his strategy for a triumphant re-emergence in that country in time for the 2013 elections. Talking to a diverse audience at a luncheon hosted by the Asia Society at the Omni Hotel on October 19, the former military leader who is in the city this week to woo the support of the largely affluent local Pakistani American community, said that Pakistan did not lack resources or potential to stand on its own feet; rather, he said that it was consistent failure in leadership that had brought that country down.

“We need thought and action to unify bureaucracy, the military, and the people,” said Musharraf, who came into power in a non-violent military coup in 1999 and led Pakistan for eight years until he resigned under impeachment pressure in 2008. “When I come in with a mandate for the people, I can have the legitimacy that I did not previously have. Because I wore a uniform, the world saw me as a dictator, which I was not,” he added. He said that he was cognizant of the rocky uphill struggle to victory, if any, but hoped to win the trust of the people, particularly the youth of Pakistan who are mired in “despondency and hopelessness, and yearn for change”. And that change would be democracy, he added.

This week, Musharraf met with the community at private and public gatherings peppered all over this city. His itinerary also included visits with former US president George H. W. Bush, and local socialite, political activist, and former honorary consul general to Pakistan and Morocco, Joanne Herring, whose support he hoped to garner. Aside from financial backing for his campaign, he reiterated that the influential Pakistani community in the diaspora is a valuable resource in helping to get him back in office. He has been visiting many cities within the US and Canada that boast large Pakistani communities.

Yet Pakistan, reeling in the throes of crippling poverty, flood relief, an internal war against extremists, ineffective governance, and a host of other significant problems, may very well be a minefield to Musharraf   who had already his shot at governance and failed. His re-entering public office in that embattled country seem at the very least, remote, as he has lost credibility and will have a challenge on hand convincing the people that he has the solutions to put the country back on track, observers say. During his presidency, through the controversial National Reconciliation Ordinance he granted amnesty to politicians and bureaucrats accused of corruption and other crimes, another black mark against him. And adding to his woes are criminal cases initiated against him in Pakistani courts and the possibility of assassination if he returns to the country of his birth. Much of his jockeying to be in the running will have to be done long distance and by proxy.

Musharraf deems himself a “man of war but a man for peace” and sees his role as a crusader eradicating illiteracy and poverty. He wants to invest in the youth by providing them with vocational skills. He will work toward increasing export, fostering a stable socio-economic climate and controlling the fiscal deficit, he said.

Addressing the thorny issue of Afghanistan and the Taliban, Musharraf said that after 9/11, Pakistan was criticized for not doing enough in the war against terrorism.

“The misconception is that Pakistan is the problem. They may be coming into Pakistan, they have sanctuaries in Pakistan, but most are in Afghanistan,” he said. “Negative handling of Afghanistan began long before, in 1979 when the Soviets invaded and the world ignored the plight of 4 million refugees in that region. Now we cannot afford to quit before bringing a legitimate stable government to Afghanistan, or it will cost the world heavily,” he said.

In India, extremism among Muslim youth is on the rise and developing excessively, observed Musharraf.

“We need to adopt a holistic approach and neutralize the situation without breaking links with Indian Muslims,” he added.

India and Pakistan have been on a confrontation course for 60 years and extremists and terrorists are fueling dissent because they do not want peace between the two countries, he said.

“Punishing Pakistan with counter attacks are irresponsible and war will be inevitable. We must stop the hysteria and leaders on both sides must continue with cogent dialogue,” said Musharraf.

For Musharraf, politics is greater than self.

“For those that love Pakistan, we cannot let go because we will become international orphans and lose our identity. Only progress and development will ensure the wellbeing of my people of Pakistan,” he said.

When asked about Musharraf’s chances at the polls, well-known local businessman Ghulam Bombaywala smiled and said:

“You never know. It’s too early to predict.”

Source: Indo-American News

Pervez Musharraf at Asia Society Texas – Outlines Election Strategy

HOUSTON, October 19, 2010 – Former Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf, who earlier this month announced he was forming a new political party and would seek the presidency in 2013, held himself up as the only figure on the Pakistani political scene capable of delivering the country from “the darkness that it faces today.”

“All the political alternatives available have been tried and failed,” he told an audience of 140 at a luncheon address hosted by AsiaSociety Texas Center and the Greater Houston Partnership.

He specifically attacked former President Nawaz Sharif, the man whom Musharraf replaced in 1999 following a bloodless military coup and who is vying to return to power.

“Having taken us down the drain, he wants to take us again down the drain,” Musharraf said.”Therefore, like any patriotic Pakistani, I feel we must not allow that.”

The 67-year-old former president offered few specifics on policies he might follow if elected, beyond promising to revive Pakistan’s economy. He did provide a glimpse of his election strategy, saying he would target the 60 percent of Pakistanis who do not vote.

“This 60 percent comprises educated middle-class Pakistanis, young people, women, and ethnic minorities,” he said. “If you can bring them into the political fray, even 25 percent of them, you would bring about a change in the political culture. That is what I intend doing.”

Regaining power as a civilian, through election, would give him the full legitimacy he lacked the first time around, he said.

Musharraf devoted the first two-thirds of his talk not to current politics but to an uncompromising defense of his and his country’s role in battling Islamic extremism in the region. “We are the victims of religious militancy, not the perpetrators,” he said.

He revisited “three blunders” that he said have contributed to the terrorist threat emanating today from Afghanistan and western Pakistan. He pointed the finger of blame primarily at the United States and the West, first for arming and encouraging the mujahideen, many of them foreigners, to wage “jihad” in Afghanistan against the Soviet occupiers, a move that introduced religious militancy into that country. Worse, after the Soviets beat a retreat, the West abandoned the war-ravaged country.

“So the first blunder, in 1989, was abandoning the place without any rehabilitation or resettlement, [which] gave rise to al Qaeda and then the Taliban,” he said.

He defended his decision to recognize the Taliban government in Afghanistan, a move that put him at odds with the United States. In recognizing the Taliban he aimed to “change them from within.” Western failure to follow that course constituted the second blunder.

Musharraf took strong issue with critics who say Pakistan has not done enough to battle al Qaeda and the Taliban. Joining the post-Sept. 11 coalition to fight terrorism was in Pakistan’s self-interest, he said.

“I want to underline this because there are now expressions in the West and the United States that we are not doing enough or that our heart is not in the issue. Wrong, sir.  Nobody in Pakistan would like to have Talibanization of Pakistan.”

He defended his strategy of trying to “peel the Pashtuns from the Taliban” in 2002 and 2003. “It could have been easily done” had the United States embraced that approach, he said. Failure to push for a political solution when the coalition had the upper hand militarily was the third blunder.

He summarized the threats facing Pakistan today as al-Qaeda, who exist “in small numbers” in the western tribal areas; the Pakistani Taliban, who are getting bolder and spreading their brand of militancy beyond the frontier; and growing numbers of ex-mujahideen traveling to Kashmir to fight the Indian army. He also expressed concern about growing Islamic extremism among the youth in India. “The Indian government needs to look into that,” he said.

He voiced concern that the United States would withdraw from Afghanistan before a stable government was in place.

“Quitting without doing that is not an option,” he said. “This is my conclusion, this is what needs to be understood, so that we don’t go and commit a fourth blunder which will cost our region and the world very heavily.”

Reported by Fritz Lanham

Watch the video of President Musharraf’s address at Asia Society Texas by clicking here.

Source: Asia Society

No regrets over Lal Masjid: Musharraf

DALLAS: Former president General (retd) Pervez Musharraf has said that those who were killed in Islamabad’s Lal Masjid were terrorists and insisted that no woman was killed during that operation, adding that out of 150 only 94 terrorists, including two foreign nationals, were killed in the July 2007 encounter.

The former president was addressing a public meeting of All Pakistan Muslim League in Dallas on Saturday. The former general dwelt at length on Pakistan’s political situation and the issues of Dr Qadeer and Taliban.

Musharraf clarified that he had never apologised for the Lal Masjid episode. According to him, Lal Masjid was a “den of terrorists” and as a head of state it was his duty to restore the writ of the state. He said that the government tried its best to settle the Masjid issue peacefully. “We also invited the Imam of Ka’aba for mediation, but all in vain. Since, we never wanted to turn Pakistan into a Taliban state, we took action”.

“I have apologised on the issue of the National Reconciliation Ordinance (NRO), which I had to accept on the advice of my political advisers.”

The former president said that when he was in uniform, people called him a dictator. Pointing at himself, he said that “dictatorship lies in the brain, and it is a mindset and uniform has got nothing to do with it”.

Referring to Dr Qadeer’s confession, the former dictator termed the nuclear scientist “a liar”, adding that Dr Qadeer “sold” nuclear secrets to three countries and he (Musharraf) had valid proof.

Denying that his government had harassed the nuclear scientist, he said that whatever Dr Qadeer had said on television he had done so voluntarily and he was not forced to do so, said Musharraf.

“I saved Dr Qadeer because he is a national hero, and I also consider him national hero,” he said, adding: “It is also a fact that he (Qadeer) made mistakes.”

The public meeting was also addressed by Coordinator of APML’s Dallas coordinator Javed Siddiqui. As many as 500 people attended the public meeting.

Earlier, General Musharraf was received by party leaders Ameer Sukhano, Dr Hassan, Dr Tasnim Agha, Naeem, Nadeem Akhter Azeem Siddiqui Tanvir Malik, Dr Arjumand, Khalil Qureshi Muhammad Ali Siddiqui, Nadem Chaudhry and others.

Source: Express Tribune

Former Pakistani president to speak at Elon University

A key figure in the Muslim political world will speak Tuesday at Elon University.

Pervez Musharraf, the former president of Pakistan, will speak at 3:30 p.m. during Elon’s fall convocation. He was considered a key ally of the United States following the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon.

Convocation will be open to Elon students, faculty and members of the public. The cost for people without Elon identification is $12. People can get tickets through the Center for the Arts Box Office by calling 336-278-5610. Tickets were still available as of Friday. The box office is closed on weekends, but anyone interested in tickets can call Monday from 12:30 to 5 p.m.

While on Elon’s campus, Musharraf will speak to and take questions from students in smaller groups.

Musharraf was president of Pakistan from 2001 to 2008.

His memoir “In the Line of Fire,” published while he was still in office, describes how he directed raids against Al Qaeda both in the mountains and cities of Pakistan. His political career was also marked by the 2004 earthquake that killed 50,000 Pakistanis, the two assassination attempts against him and the contentious relationship between Pakistan and neighboring India.

Information about Musharraf on Elon University’s web site at http://www.elon.edu describes him as a “proponent of democracy” who “set out to transform Pakistan into a progressive, moderate and prosperous Islamic state.” It credits him with including women in national government and with allowing the country’s media to operate independently of the government.

Musharraf has frequently been in the news since leaving office. Some news media are more likely to refer to him as a “former military ruler” than “former president.” He left office after 2008 elections and recently announced plans to return to involvement in Pakistani politics.

He became president of Pakistan after serving in the country’s army.

Pakistan is located between Afghanistan and India. With more than 175 million people, it is the world’s sixth-most-populous country. Ninety-five percent of its people are Muslim.

Source: The Times News

Pervez Musharraf uses Hay festival to hint at possible return to power

‘Many people are asking that I should come back,’ says former president of Pakistan – citing 200,000-strong Facebook ‘fan club’

Richard Norton-Taylor (The Guardian)

Pakistan’s former president, Pervez Musharraf, tonight used the Hay festival to help launch a possible return to power. He said he could still lead his country out of its deep economic, political and security problems.

“Many people are asking that I should come back,” he said. He has a Facebook page and in five months his “fan club has reached 200,000”.He said most of his supporters there were between 18 and 34. “The youth of today [in Pakistan] is dismayed.”

Musharraf added: “The people of Pakistan must stand up and be counted”.

Musharraf recently announced his intention to return to Pakistan, where his supporters have launched a party, the All Pakistan Muslim League, but the next elections are not until 2013. He has been living in London since resigning in 2008.

Interviewed tonight by Carey Schofield, the academic author, he suggested he had not made a final decision to return, prefacing his remarks by saying “if” he did so.

Musharraf insisted that Pakistan’s nuclear weapons were safe from terrorists, though he admitted that what he called the “centre of gravity” of al-Qaida-inspired extremism lay in Pakistan’s tribal areas.

Referring to Pakistan’s relations with India, he recalled being told in Kathmandu, the capital of Nepal, of a proverb which said that when two elephants fight the grass gets trampled. “I shudder to think if two elephants start making love the grass gets more trampled,” he said.

Source: The Guardian

Musharraf reflects on Pakistan’s past

Alexandra Ulmer and Suzannah Weiss, Senior Staff Writers

Former president of Pakistan Pervez Musharraf said India poses an “existential threat” to Pakistan to a packed Salomon 101 Tuesday night. His wide-ranging speech touched on nuclear proliferation, the Talibanization of Afghanistan and the challenges of leadership.

The crowd of students and faculty who came to see the political leader speak overflowed into Sayles Hall, where a simulcast of the speech was screened.

Musharraf, who took office after a coup in 1999 and led Pakistan until he resigned in August 2008, spoke for about 45 minutes. A question-and-answer session moderated by Associate Professor of International Relations Nina Tannenwald followed.

Flanked by the Pakistani and American flags, Musharraf greeted the crowd — which included a reporter from Pakistan’s 24-hour news channel, News One — with a military salute.

He then delved into an overview of Pakistan’s recent history and its relations with bordering countries and with the West. He also discussed threats posed by the region’s extremist groups.

The epicenter of terrorism — which Musharraf called one of the world’s prime challenges — is located in Pakistan and its neighboring countries, he said. Regionwide extremism requires a systemic, durable and multifaceted solution, he added.

“Don’t be stuck in the short-term solution,” he said. “Go for the root.”

Poverty and disparity drive extremism, he said, citing the alienation of Muslim youth in India and illiteracy in rural Afghanistan. “Pakistan is a victim of terrorism and extremism,” he added.

These issues require a broader approach than military action can provide, the former general said. “Military will not provide peace alone,” Musharraf said.

But Musharraf maintained that military force along the border with India remains crucial for Pakistan, which Musharraf said faces an “existential threat” from its neighbor.

Pakistan’s current forces — and nuclear arsenal — on the border are purely defensive, he said. Musharraf acknowledged the countries’ frayed relationship, adding that he has the “dubious distinction” of fighting two of the three wars between them.

Though the two countries came close to settling their disputes during his presidency, the relationship remains tense, he said.

“I am a man of war, but I am a man for peace,” Musharraf said, adding that he understands that war “ravages.”

“That’s why I am for peace,” he said.

In addition to instability, developmental problems abound in the region, said Musharraf, who drew laughter with his remarks about the jargon of economics.

“There is a tendency to complicate our economies,” he said, adding that he often reacts to economists with the question, “Why are you confusing me?”

Reflecting on his time as president, Musharraf addressed the qualities a leader embodies and the ways students can integrate these qualities into their careers.

Musharraf said the primary role of a Third World political leader is “to ensure the security, progress and development of the state for the well-being of the people.”

A leader can gain a following through fear, but it is better to be relatable to subordinates, he said, adding that “your people must love and respect you and never be scared of you.”

The lesson which he has drawn from years in power during the conflict between India and Pakistan, he said, is that “a compromise for the bigger has all the positive connotations.”

“Boldness to give,” Musharraf said, is the most important quality of a leader. “An agreement implies give and take. It cannot be take and take.”

Musharraf, whose speech ranged broadly, also drew laughter when he discussed the key components of good leadership near the end of his remarks. Glancing at his watch, Musharraf said, “I’ll skip the part about justice.”

As Tannenwald laid out the rules for the session — “If you feel the need to make a speech, please go afterward and blog later” — the screen in Sayles Hall focused in on Musharraf fanning himself with his folded notes, provoking laughter from students.

“I expect very frank questions and you should expect equally frank answers,” Musharraf said.

Sriram Subramanian asked Musharraf about the 1999 Kargil War in Kashmir, in which Musharraf commanded Pakistani forces. Musharraf acknowledged his role in that conflict but placed it in a wider context, listing India’s offensives against Pakistan.

“I didn’t expect to hear a complete admission of guilt,” Subramanian said afterward. “But he is the one who spearheaded the campaign … which turned out to be a diplomatic embarrassment for Pakistan.”

Sajjad Hasan, a Herald business staffer, asked Musharraf how he would advise an aspiring but politically unconnected politician on how to navigate Pakistan’s political arena, which he said has been dominated by the Bhutto and Sharif families for decades.

“The environment is certainly tribal and feudal,” Musharraf responded. “But the politics of Pakistan needs fresh blood.”

After the lecture, Asad Hassan, a student from Pakistan, said Musharraf successfully covered “the background of the problems we face at the moment.”

Still, Musharraf evaded a question about the Pakistani army’s involvement with the Taliban, Hassan said.

Before Musharraf spoke, Gulfam Khan, a cameraman for Pakistan’s News One, interviewed students waiting in line on the Main Green.

In addition to News One, Pakistan-based channels Geo and ARY will air the footage, Khan said.

“It’s nice to see just the people here to listen to Musharraf,” Gulfam said. “All the people lining up — he must be something.”

“It’s reassuring,” Melissa Dzenis said of the packed crowd, “that, in spite of all the chaos that is now in the international realm, there is an outpour of interest at Brown.”

— With additional reporting by Sydney Ember

Source: The Brown Daily Herald

Musharraf to meet Obama in October

Wednesday, September 09, 2009
By Mazhar Tufail

ISLAMABAD: Former president Pervez Musharraf, who will be embarking on a 40-day visit to the United States on September 14, will meet US President Barack Obama in the third week of October, during his US lecture tour, his lawyer said on Tuesday.

He claimed the former president has been offered $300,000 per lecture by various American think tanks and other institutions. “Only former US president Bill Clinton is being paid as much for delivering a lecture and nobody else is being paid more than this amount,” said Chaudhry Fawwad, Advocate, a member of the legal team appointed by Musharraf to defend him in the Pakistani courts.

“The former president will deliver lectures in 17 American states.” Chaudhry Fawwad said Musharraf would deliver lectures on Pakistan’s national security, nuclear programme, future of Afghanistan and impact of the Afghan situation on Pakistan.

He said another topic of his lectures would be the role of Pakistan’s Army in the war against terrorism. The lawyer said a meeting of Musharraf with US President Barack Obama had been fixed for the third week of October.

He said during his stay in Washington DC, the former military ruler would also meet former US secretary of state Colin Powell, Senator John Kerry, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, US special representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan Richard Holbrooke and heads of various US think tanks and lawmakers.

“Begum Sehba Musharraf and security staff will accompany the former president during his visit to the United States,” he added. Chaudhry Fawwad said on his way back, Musharraf would make a stopover in Abu Dhabi where leaders of all the Pakistan Muslim League (PML) factions — except the one led by former prime minister Nawaz Sharif — would meet him.

He said during the meetings, the unification of all the PML factions would be discussed and efforts would be made to achieve this objective. “The former president is constantly in touch with PML-Q President Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain. The PML-N conspired to cause further split in the PML-Q but its conspiracy has been foiled,” Chaudhry Fawwad said. “Chaudhry Shujaat will be appointed as president of the unified PML because, according to Musharraf, he is a sagacious and wise leader.”

Source: The News