An Exclusive Interview: Musharraf has no real future in Pakistan

"Peace is achievable as long as the leadership in the region can have a vision about South Asia. Be it leaders in Pakistan, India, Bangladesh, Nepal or Sri Lanka, most are driven by their real political short-term objectives. Peace requires that we see each other as relevant."

by Nilantha Ilangamuwa

AN INTERVIEW WITH DR. AYESHA SIDDIQA OF PAKISTAN

PART ONE: Pakistan helped the Sri Lankan state for three reasons

PART TWO: Who murdered Benazir Bhutto?

(November 29, Islamabad, Sri Lanka Guardian) Q. Many people claim that the Armed Forces, particularly the Pakistani Army, are behind the Islamic militancy in the country as well as in Afghanistan and India. There seems to be a double standard in the Pakistani military of going to great lengths to fight Islamic militants, yet politically actually sympathizing with them in many regards. What is your assessment on both the loyalty of the military to the cause of defeating militancy and protecting the stability of the state and the effectiveness of the military’s efforts over the last few years?

Ans: The different form of militants is the creation of Pakistan army. Proxy war is a fairly popular policy tool in South Asia which got perfected starting from the early 1980s. This is when Pakistan military volunteered to raise an army of mujahideen jointly with the US to fight the Soviet military in Afghanistan. Later, the militant forces were used at other fronts particularly Kashmir. The Rawalpindi GHQ uses militants to fight India in Kshmir and Afghanistan.

Q. There are reports that during the army action against the Taliban in North West Frontier Province there were killings of many civilians which were not revealed because the army has control of the media. What is your understanding of the fact or fiction behind these “mass grave” reports?


 Did the military strike a significant blow to the militants in the North West Frontier Province? What do you know about claims the Taliban knew before hand when attacks were coming?


Ans: I would not want to address such specific issues but the fact of the matter is that there is the strategic linkage between the military and the militants. Such a policy means that information may reach the militants which may be passed on to them institutionally or individually. It is important for Pakistan to change this policy.

Q. What is your opinion about the restoration of the Judiciary and chief justice of Pakistan, do you think that the Judiciary is still independent? Or will it be able to enforce the rule of law?


Ans: Judiciary seems to have a mind of its own. It appears to be taking decisions without listening to dictates from the civilian government. But this does not make the judiciary less of a stakeholder in the country’s power politics. Perhaps, more information and details about the moral health of judiciary might come out only if people did not have fear of being tried under treason. The state should have the capacity to judge people according to the same criterion. It was only a couple of days ago that a press report appeared in one of the newspapers claiming that the chief justice of the supreme court was also a beneficiary of free land distribution by the previous military government. I believe the political and legal system would be able to look at this case with the same lens as it uses in other cases.


Q. There are reports of more than 5000 people are missing in Pakistan after 9/11. Most of them are from Balochistan. How do you see the issue of disappearances being resolved?


Ans: There is no single institution of the state which has a concrete policy to address the issue. The military and its intelligence agencies, since they are involved in the cases of disappearance of the Baluchis, are not willing to talk about it. Similarly, the military, the political government is not ready to talk about the disappearance of people who were picked up at the behest of Islamabad’s western allies. I don’t see the issue seeing a logical end.

Q. Torture in custody is very common in Pakistan. Even the military is running torture cells in different containment areas. The ISI is also thought to have “safe houses” where torture is used to obtain confessional statements. There is no law in the Pakistan Penal Code which mentions torture as a crime. Would you like to participate in the movement against torture, through research, your analytical reports, or through your columns?

Ans: Of course, I would like to be part of such a movement. By the way, I have also written about this issue along with other columnists.

Q. In a recent interview former President Musharraf says that Kashmir is out of control, and he vowed to started politics again. So do you think that Musharraf will successful in Pakistan ?

Ans: Musharraf has no real future in Pakistan. There are many a people who will be after his life if he dares return. The army and the present service chief are not happy with Musharraf either. I don’t see him returning to the country in the foreseeable future.

Q. Finally, do you feel that long-term peace is an achievable goal in the region? How can this be achieved, if it is possible at all?

Ans: Peace is achievable as long as the leadership in the region can have a vision about South Asia. Be it leaders in Pakistan, India, Bangladesh, Nepal or Sri Lanka, most are driven by their real political short-term objectives. Peace requires that we see each other as relevant. This means greater trade and all those opportunities that make people appreciate the worth of the ‘other.’ This is the only way that things will improve. Greater interaction ios the key.