A Sizzling
Pakistan: Part II
The Call That Never Came
By Mohammad Ashraf
Chaudhry
Pittsburg, CA
Before leaving for Pakistan, I had formally
requested President Musharraf for the honor of
an interview for Pakistan Link. On reaching Pakistan,
it began to dawn upon me that perhaps I was asking
for the impossible. Friends began to convince
me that in Pakistan it is easier to meet God than
the Deputy Commissioner of a city, and that I
could expect the Margalla Hills turning into gold
than hearing a word from the President. I brushed
aside this sickly cynicism that invariably grips
people in Pakistan and never makes them see the
glass as half-full.
Since I had only 28 days at my disposal in Pakistan,
and one week had already passed, I thought it
wise to check for myself where the request for
interview stood. A Major at the ISPR told me in
rather honest terms that it was next to impossible
to get the necessary clearance for such a request,
which in routine took a month’s period.
I could understand that the President was a very
busy man, but what I could not understand was
the neglect to respond by his office. A simple
email reply could have saved me of many an inconvenience.
Then as a consolation prize, just to reward me
for my labor and desire to the see the President,
an idea was dropped, “How about seeing the
Director General of Inter Services Public Relations,
(ISPR), Maj. General Shaukat Sultan? That could
be arranged”. I bought the idea. The interview
with President Musharraf’s spokesman took
place on May 20, 2006 at 11:00 a.m.
Question: A general perception held by people
is that there is hardly anything good that Gen.
Musharraf’s government has done for the
people, which I believe is not true. Who in your
opinion is responsible for spreading such misperceptions?
Answer: I do not subscribe to this perception.
If the people had been frustrated as you suggest,
they would have come out in protest, which is
not the case. Poverty is not a new phenomenon
in Pakistan. All European countries have had their
share of poor people, so do we. The dharnas (he
was referring to Qazi Sahib’s tactics) have
failed to deliver. Pakistan is on the way to progress.
Atlas Motor cycle factory is working in three
shifts, producing over 5,500 motor cycles, and
so are our motor car projects.
Q: In spite of all the efforts and claims why
has the government failed to defang the religious
extremists? Would it not be right to say that
they are cashing upon the general frustration
prevailing in the people, and they are cleverly
filling the vacuum with their so-called spiritualism?
A: I will not deny that the mullahs have acted
more wisely and cleverly than the cleverest of
the politicians. They played all the cards in
the elections very intelligently. The failures
of (the Muslim League-Q, had been too obvious
to hide. (The general did not name them as such,
but clearly he referred to them). The government
did not do well, it did not fill the void…
the new leaders that emerged did not match the
challenge… However, it goes to the credit
of this government that it is going to complete
its tenure. It is a psychological phenomenon that
after a period of five years, people do yearn
for a change. (The general suggested that what
I attributed to the general frustration of people
was actually a natural desire of people for a
change).
Q: All ills that inflict our country boil down
to one issue, the abysmal low rate of literate
people. Why has the government that had been in
the saddle for over six years not tackled this
mother of all evils – illiteracy - on a
war-footing?
A: This government has done more in this field
than all the previous governments. Syllabus is
being revised and updated; examination system
is being reviewed; six world-class international
universities are being established (Sweden, Spain,
Germany, South Korea, Austria and New Zealand,
are the countries who are doing it); highly qualified
and trained teachers from these countries will
fill in the teaching faculties of these universities,
and as a result of this:
A) The degree awarded by these universities will
have equivalent value when compared to their respective
countries;
B) They would usher in a revolution in the field
of education and IT education,
C) An era of progress will start with clear signs
of progress in all fields. The government has
made great progress, but perhaps not in good governance.
The local system worked wonderfully well in the
first phase; but in the second phase it did not.
The corruption that had been prevalent at the
provincial level, succeeded in seeping into it
in the second phase.
Q: What do you say about the Charter of Democracy?
A: In the first instance, it should have come
in 1998. Nawaz Sharif stifled the spirit of democracy
himself. (He was referring to the attack on the
Supreme Court; on his firing the Chief of the
Army; on amending the Constitution etc.). Religious
fanaticism, which has done so much damage to the
image of Islam and of the country, did not come
in one day. The trouble in the tribal areas has
its roots in the past. It was Nawaz Sharif who
made (possible) the arrival of mullahs, instead
of Maliks possible through the franchise system
that he introduced.
The General acknowledged the good acts done by
America and the European countries during the
October 8 earthquake. And this to a great extent,
he said, wiped out the anti-West fervor. But then
the publication of the cartoons of the our Holy
Prophet, indiscreet killings of innocent people
in Afghanistan and Iraq, and the attack on Bajour
Agency, washed out the traces of all the good
that they had done.
The General emphasized time and again during the
interview that every Pakistani has a role to play
in strengthening the country. They must have the
right kind of perceptions for the country, and
ward off the wrong ones. I retorted by saying,
“Is the shortage of sugar a mere perception?”
The General acknowledged that that has been unfortunate
because most of them who own the sugar mills are
either in the government, or are in the parliament.
The General did not appear very happy when it
was pointed out that bad governance did not absolve
General Musharraf because all along he had been
very much a major part of governance.
I reminded him what Bernard Lewis, the famous
professor, had said on his 90th birthday the other
day: Democracy in the Muslim world should be administered
like an anti-biotic, drop by drop. A full doze
can kill the patient quickly. It happened in our
case in 1971, and it is happening in the Middle
East now. Second, free elections should be the
culmination of reforms, and not the beginning
of a process; and thirdly, a majority of the ills
inflicting the Muslim world are the result of
their own doings - their conceited cultural superiority,
and not the result of Western expansionism. One
could dispute the last statement, but the other
two carried an element of truth. (Next week: The
Milaad Cult)
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