The Musharraf Interview
Purely by chance I stumbled into an interview of Pervez Musharraf on National Public Radio while on my way to an appointment. Questioning the former strongman of Pakistan on “Talk of the Nation” were the regular hosts of the show Neal Conan and the veteran journalist Ted Koppel.
To my considerable relief the ousted Pakistani ruler was quite knowledgeable on the politics of his native land and was enthusiastic in answering the questions posed to him. He is said to be extending his stay in foreign lands owing to the fear of being arrested when he enters his home state.
Media reports indicate that he is wanted on several charges including illegally seizing power and looting the national treasury to the tune of one billion dollars. It is to be remembered that Pakistani media is notorious for publishing whatever comes their way including pieces lifted blindly off the Internet.
The two seasoned reporters asked him some tough questions with Musharraf vigorously offering answers. He was particularly defensive about the military but provided rather detailed views of his own on the role of the army in fighting terrorism.
Some of his answers were long which many listeners, unaccustomed to information on Pakistani military, must have found boringly tedious. This, in spite of the fact, that NPR caters to an elite audience.
One positive development from the crisis in the region is that Pakistan has come under the media spotlight. The events in the country are subjected to discussion on the talk radio and television as well as in the national press in the United States. Unfortunately, the subject matters analyzed are hardly ever encouraging given the escalating level of terrorism in the country and reverses experienced by the Pakistani army.
The two interrogators on the NPR focused primarily on the Pakistani military, terrorism and the nuclear-security issue. They expected short sound-bites for answers. Instead, Musharraf gave lengthy explanations covering the topics with details. The reporters tried to steer him back to the narrowest aspect of their questions but Musharraf persisted on pursuing his points.
One reason perhaps for the absence of Pakistani appearance on the media is precisely because they can’t deliver the punch line in a cogent and focused way. Obviously, they are unaware of the cultural nuances in the American setting, as well as of the time constraints imposed on just about any activity in the media world.
The current ambassador of Pakistan in Washington, DC, Husain Haqqani, seems to have caught on. Appearing on the CNN’s GPS with Fareed Zakaria last Sunday he followed all the informal rules of the media interview. He was neither argumentative nor quarrelsome. He showed patience and was respectful of the interviewer.
Musharraf, in his interview, however at times became quite agitated with the questions and the reporters. He went on tangents. He even lectured to the two involved. On occasion he sounded shrill and became emotional revealing the characteristic cultural attribute of his paternalistic society.
On the issue of nuclear security he provided substantial details centering on the command and control structure which should, perhaps, have been left unsaid. After all, everybody was listening. The topic of American nuclear security is virtually never discussed openly in the media, though speculation abound.
Just days after putting a positive spin on the military disaster followed when a motley collection of terrorists stormed what is considered to be Pakistan’s “Pentagon.” The ragtag extremists seized a building with twenty hostages inside and held them captive. The military suffered several casualties, including two officers, one a brigadier. The terrorists made their point and humiliated the only viable institution in the country.
The terrorist storming of the army headquarters severely eroded Pakistan military’s credibility and cast doubts on nuclear security. In the perception of many this incident once again demonstrated to the world that the Islamic Republic is a failed state.
