 |
The voices of opposition and dissent are closing in on General Pervez Musharraf,
the embattled president of Pakistan. He rescued Pakistan from
the brink of political collapse, only to find himself threatened
by a rising tide of opposition from both Islamic fundamentalist
groups and liberal political parties, who view his military
rule as a betrayal of the nation. While fending off these dissenting
factions, Musharraf also must struggle to balance a hefty load
of explosive issues. His historic peace accord with India has
averted the threat of nuclear war, but it ignited the ire of
radical Pakistani groups who lay claim to Kashmir. He is cooperating
with the international community to dismantle the nuclear weapons
black market, but having to confront emerging revelations about
Pakistan's central role in the growing nuclear scandal. FRONTLINE/World
reporter and producer Sharmeen Obaid journeyed across her native
Pakistan in early 2004, talking with people on the ground about
the president's predicament. The following interview excerpts,
featuring some of Pakistan's leading voices, illuminate the
complexities and contradictions playing out inside Pakistan
and the razor's edge on which its president is now walking.
Ahmed Rashid: Critical Journalist
Ahmed Rashid is an internationally known Pakistani journalist
and an authority on Muslim extremist groups. He is a correspondent
with the Far East Economic Review as well as the author
of Jihad: The Rise of Militant Islam in Central Asia
and Taliban: Militant Islam, Oil and Fundamentalism in Central
Asia. In this interview, Rashid traces the roots of Pakistan's
internal struggles to Musharraf's contradictory policy toward
extremist groups that he once supported but now has outlawed.
"He has banned them and restricts them," Rashid tells
FRONTLINE/World reporter and producer Sharmeen Obaid.
"At the same time, the intelligence services have worked
with them very closely, especially in Kashmir and backing the
Taliban.... I think all these chickens are coming home to roost
now."
Jugnu Mohsin: Newspaper Editor
Jugnu Mohsin is the publisher of the Friday Times Newspaper,
one of Pakistan's leading liberal newspapers. In this interview,
Mohsin explores the personal contradictions of Musharraf the
man as a way to understand the current contradictions in Pakistani
policy. Musharraf, she says, is molded in the staunch, authoritarian
traditions of the military, yet has a progressive, open-minded
worldview. He is at once a dyed-in-the-wool soldier and a "regular,
liberal guy," Mohsin tells FRONTLINE/World. As a
consequence, Pakistan is struggling to reconcile the security-obsessed
and insular worldview of the Pakistani army with the openness
and transparency demanded by the age of globalization. Musharraf
"could do better," in this regard, Mohsin says, principally
by scaling back the military's role in government. But, she
maintains, "... 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."
"Shahzad": An Underground Militant
"Shahzad," whose true identity is concealed, is an
outlawed jihadi fighting for Kashmir's independence from India.
This interview takes us inside the struggle for Kashmir, illuminating
the conflict and its effect on Pakistan's stability. Jihadis
support Musharraf's efforts to broker peace with India, Shahzad
tells FRONTLINE/World, but Kashmiris must be consulted
in the peace talks if the violence is to end. He maintains that
recent assassination attempts on Musharraf had nothing to do
with Kashmiris, who see the president as an ally. "[I]t
is my opinion that Mr. Musharraf is our Muslim brother and he
will never betray the trust that the Kashmiris have vested in
him. He is a patriot, a Pakistani, and will never betray the
blood which has been spilled in Kashmir."
Lieutenant General Hamid Gul: Defender of
Islam
Lieutenant General Hamid Gul, retired, was the director of Inter-Services
Intelligence (ISI), Pakistan's military intelligence agency,
from 1987 to 1989, during the time of the rise of the Taliban.
He is known for his sympathies to Islamic radicals, and in this
interview with FRONTLINE/World, he defends the rights
of militants to fight for an Islamic system of government. Pakistan
would become an Islamic state, Gul argues in this interview,
if it were not for the United States. "[It] ... is part
of the global design of the imperialist powers that Pakistan
should not be a democracy. Because whenever it becomes democracy,
it will be an Islamic democracy. And that is what the Americans
don't like."
General Mirza Aslam Beg: Former Army Foe
of Musharraf
General Mirza Aslam Beg, retired, was the chief of staff of
the Pakistani army from 1988 to 1991. Many accuse him of being
on the inside of Pakistan's underground nuclear proliferation
program, an allegation he denies in this interview with FRONTLINE/World
reporter and producer Sharmeen Obaid. "If my government
wasn't aware, how was I aware?" General Beg asks, adding
that the United States and England should be held responsible
for failing to reveal what they knew about Pakistan's nuclear
activities. "They are a party to the crime that was committed,"
he says, "by not revealing the facts to the responsible
people in Pakistan either."
Sherry Rehman: Opposition Parliamentarian
Sherry Rehman is a liberal parliamentarian as well as an outspoken
critic of President Musharraf. In this interview, she argues
that more robust democratic institutions, and not continued
military rule, are necessary to guide Pakistan through the current
political crisis. Rehman acknowledges that in the wake of 9/11,
Pakistan was faced with extraordinary challenges requiring strong
leadership. And she concedes that Musharraf served his nation
well during that difficult time. But that time has now passed,
and, she says, military authority still goes unchecked and must
be replaced with the electoral process. "What happens with
us," she tells FRONTLINE/World reporter and producer
Sharmeen Obaid, "is the military establishment takes control
and therefore becomes accountable to no one."
Sami ul-Haq: Powerful Religious Leader
Sami ul-Haq is a senator and founding member of Muttahida Majlis-e-Ama
(MMA), otherwise known as the United Action Front, a coalition
of religious parties that gained unprecedented victories in
2003 elections. Ul-Haq, who still supports Taliban ideology,
is best known for his madrassah, or religious school, which
is considered the most famous in Pakistan for having trained
thousands of students who went to fight in Afghanistan and Kashmir
as jihadis. In this interview, ul-Haq tells FRONTLINE/World
that Pakistan's enemies object to the country's possession of
nuclear weapons, but that "If we gave it to Libya, then
what is the crime? If all of Europe can share this technology
between them, then it is the duty of all Muslims to share any
technology or knowledge they possess."
back to top
|
|
