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Christmas Day, 2003.*
The first explosion rocked a small convoy of "Dingos" winding through the dusky streets of Rawalpindi. One driver let out a sharp curse as he spun his vehicle to a sudden halt. Several of the lead trucks had been instantly transformed into a mass of twisted, burning steel. "General! We're under assault. We must evacuate you immediately!"
His passenger was furious. The General leapt out of his armored personnel carrier, making a motion with his hand for the driver to follow. Soldiers were already beginning to form a tight perimeter around their leader. The air was thick with smoke and screams of the wounded.
A second explosion sent shrapnel hurtling through the air. One of his men forced him to the ground. A jagged shard of metal bounced off his transport's windshield, leaving spidery shatter marks throughout the glass.
General Pervez Musharraf angrily brushed aside his aide and rose to his feet. His battle hardened eyes darted about, surveying the carnage. With a deep, guttural snarl he shouted, "These assassins! I want them found. And I want them dead! Do you hear me?? Dead!!"
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Ruthless General. Crafty politician. Supreme Commander of the Pakistani Military. Dictator. Moderate. Liberal. Islamic. Traitor or savior? What is the true nature of Pervez Musharraf?
Who is Pervez Musharraf?
At 62 years of age, Pervez Musharraf is the current leader of Pakistan. His nominal position as President of his country is a matter of no small contention.
Born to well educated parents, Musharraf spent the early portion of his childhood in Turkey where he became fluent in the native language. He attended a Christian college founded by Englishmen. In 1961, he went on to attend the Pakistan Military Academy. He later studied at the Royal College of Defense Studies in Britain.
He saw combat in the Indo-Pakistani War (1971), and participated in skirmishes throughout his Military career. More often than not, Musharraf was the aggressor in these cases. Eventually he rose to the position of Chief of Army in 1999.
In April of '99, He led the Army throughout the Kargil War as a chief architect of Pakistan's military strategies.
The Kargil War
The Kargil Conflict was initiated when the Pakistani Army, under the direction of Musharraf, took over Indian military fortifications in Kashmir. As the conflict escalated, world opinion turned against Pakistan. This led to a crumbling of their economy, and eventually Musharraf was ordered to withdraw.
Aftermath of Kargil
The order to end the Kargil operation led to deep divisions and mistrust between the Pakistani Army and its civilian government. Accusations of corruption and incompetence resulted in the Prime Minister ordering the removal of Musharraf from his position as Army Chief as retribution. Musharraf refused, and with the aid of key military leaders brought down the elected government.
He immediately assumed the title of Chief Executive and ordered the now powerless Prime Minister exiled. The President of Pakistan, who possessed virtually no executive authority was allowed to remain in office until his term expired. Musharraf then took the title of President for his own.
Pakistan's Supreme Court ordered that elections be held. These elections, however, incurred charges of political corruption and malfeasance. Although Musharraf apologized to the country for "voting irregularities," it is important to note that justices who had voted against his ascension were later exiled along with members of the press who had criticized his methods.
Eventually, after securing enough political allies (including some political parties with known ties to Al-Qaeda), Musharraf managed to pass a Congressional referendum to "legitimize" his government. An important part of the political maneuvering involved Musharraf giving up his role of Army Chief. This is an agreement that he has yet to fulfill, leading to wide protest from the legislative branch of Pakistan's government.
The Road to Now
Musharraf has been indispensable to the United States throughout it's invasion of Afghanistan and the subsequent "war on terror". As a result of Musharraf's support, oil lines to the Taliban were cut and the Pakistani military provided critical intelligence info and logistics support. Without this aid, it is widely thought that the US invasion of Afghanistan would have been far more difficult.
His support of the US has not gone unnoticed by Islamic extremists in the region. Musharraf has since survived multiple assassination attempts on his life. The most recent mastermind of these attacks was killed in a two day long battle after being cornered by Pakistani Paramilitary Units.
On June 1st, 2004 Musharraf outlined his vision for modern Islam in an op-ed piece published by the Washington Post. Excerpts from the speech include:
"We need to understand that the root cause of extremism and militancy lies in political injustice, denial and deprivation. Political injustice to a nation or a people, when combined with stark poverty and illiteracy, makes for an explosive mix. It produces an acute sense of hopelessness and powerlessness. A nation suffering from these lethal ills is easily available for the propagation of militancy and the perpetration of extremist, terrorist acts. It is cannon fodder in a war of terrorism."
"The first part is for the Muslim world to shun militancy and extremism and adopt the path of socioeconomic uplift."
"The second is for the West, and the United States in particular, to seek to resolve all political disputes with justice and to aid in the socioeconomic betterment of the deprived Muslim world."
"I would be remiss if, in defense of the people of my faith, I did not trace the genesis of the Muslims' being labeled as extremists or terrorists. Before the anti-Soviet Afghan war, the sole cause of unrest and concern in the Muslim world was the Palestine dispute. It was this issue that led to a unity of Muslims -- in favor of Palestinians and against Israel. The Afghan war of the 1980s, supported and facilitated by the West as a proxy war against the Soviet Union, saw the emergence and nurturing of pan-Islamic militancy. Islam as a religion was used to harness worldwide Muslim support. Subsequently the atrocities and ethnic cleansing against Muslims in Bosnia, the Chechen uprising, the Kashmir freedom struggle and the invigorated Palestinian intifada all erupted in the '90s after the Soviet disintegration. To make matters worse, the militancy that was sparked in Afghanistan -- which should have been defused after the Cold War -- was instead allowed to fester for a decade."
"I call on the West to help resolve these political disputes with justice, as part of a commitment to a strategy of Enlightened Moderation."
"When I think of the role of Muslims in today's world, my heart weeps. What we need is introspection."
Analysis
Pervez Musharraf is a pivotal figure in the current clash of ideology between the West and the world of Islam. He walks a tightrope between despot and liberator. Ultimately, he will be judged on what happens in Pakistan after he steps down from power, if in fact he ever decides to relinquish the reins. His actions have resulted in the downfall of democracy within his nation.
He has been critical of US efforts in Iraq, stating publicly in an interview that a purely military solution will ultimately fail in the region. "One must remember this. Military action buys you time to utilize all other instruments to get to the core issues which are spawning terrorism. If we cannot see beyond terrorism, we will never succeed. . . . Having bought this time -- what is the overall strategy?"
The same might be asked of him. The critical question is whether or not Musharraf intends to restore the role of the people in Pakistan's political process. If he strengthens democratic institutions while maintaining his stranglehold on political power, will the political structure of Pakistan be able to withstand his eventual downfall? Or, will the opposition generated by his pro-western stances enable Islamic extremists to seize control?
While Musharraf appears to be a proponent of moderation and relatively liberal as an Islamic, he has failed in recent cases to meet his own exhortations.
Consider his refusal to allow a recent Pakistani rape victim free travel throughout the country and beyond its borders. (Authors amendment: It has been brought to my attention that there is some controversy concerning remarks on rape made by Musharraf in a Washington Post interview. The remarks were as follows: "A lot of people say that if you want to go abroad and get a visa from Canada or citizenship and be a millionaire, get yourself raped," This remark has brought widespread condemnation. Musharraf has denied making the remarks, but the Washington Post has reported that a review of the audio tapes from the interview confirm the accuracy of the quote. ""We need to prevent violence against women, but why are we being singled out," he said. Further remarks include, "As the leader of Pakistan, as a patriotic Pakistani, I would not like my country to be singled out on an issue which is global." -End Author's note) His government has struggled to meet the needs of its recent earthquake's victims. He has engaged in crackdowns on a free press, critical of his policies.
Whether or not Musharraf can succeed in his apparent goal of transforming Pakistan into the paragon of a modern, moderate Islamic nation remains to be seen. The facts of the matter seem to suggest that a single bullet is all that separates Pakistan from Musharraf's intentions and yet another extremist Muslim nation in the middle east. Whether or not Pervez Musharraf can continue to dodge that bullet remains to be seen.
I for one pray that Musharraf's continues to avoid his enemies, and that the better angels of his nature might guide his way.
*The introduction to this article is a dramatization extrapolated from news reports on the December 25th assassination attempt. What is known for certain, is that the attack involved two separate suicide bombers, and that the alleged perpetrator of the attack (Amjad Hussain Farooqi) was later hunted down and killed on Musharraf's orders. It certainly could have happened this way, but I wasn't there so I'm not sure. Farooqi was also reputed to be involved in the murder of American journalist, Daniel Pearl.
