The Pioneer -- Sunday, September 2, 2000
Pervez dangerous if position is threatened
Rahul Datta; Deepak Sharma/New
Delhi
He can be rash. If the situation spins out of his control he can
be dangerous. And with a high-risk profile tinged with bravado,
he can launch on a mission even if it has just 20 per cent
chances of success.
Once at home, he is a different person altogether. He is known to
consume liquor, but not in public. Is fond of ghazals. Might go
through an English movie video. And in moments of joy, loves to
dance to traditional music.... It's all about Gen Pervez
Musharraf, the Chief Executive Officer of Pakistan.
Believe it or not, the Executive Head of the state, is still
paying monthly installments of a newly constructed house in
Karachi. Does not have an extravagant lifestyle. But has a
passion for guns.
A comprehensive dossier on Gen Musharraf prepared by the Indian
Intelligence agencies gives a deep insight into the personal
characteristics, professional ability and the future prospects of
the man who now heads the military regime in Pakistan.
Though Gen Musharraf has sided with fundamentalist groups, he and
his brothers are comparatively liberal and trace this to their
progressive upbringing. The General, a nominal muslim, does not
go to mosque very often and neither offer namaz five times a day.
Diverting from secular leanings, he is now backing the jehadis
and even went to the extent of addressing the United Jehadi
Council in Muzzafarabad.
IMAGE CONSCIOUS: The General is quite conscious of his Mohajir
background. He had been wary of his ethnicity. his key aides are
Punjabis and his No 2 political enemy in Pakistan is Mohajir
leader Altaf Hussain, chief of Muttahida Quami Movement (MQM).
Musharraf commands respect in the army and is considered a
professional and morally upright. Son of a diplomat, Musharraf
owns residential plots in Karachi, Rawalpindi, Peshawar, Lahore
and agricultural land in Bhawalpur. He is paying installments for
a house constructed in Karachi. The plots were purchased at
reduced rates (20 per cent of the actual cost).
FRIEND-TURNED-FOE: While in GOC 1 Corps (Pakistan s Strike Corps),
Musharraf was the army officer closest to Nawaz Sharif. He has
been accused of passing classified information (relating to
closed-door meetings with the army chief) to Sharif. He had
ingratiated himself with the then PM by keeping the latter
informed of the criticism of the Government s functioning during
the the corps commanders conference.
KASHMIR: Gen Musharraf displays an air of ultra-nationalism which
makes him anti-Indian. Kashmir has been the core issue for him
since the 1965 war when he saw action in the Chawinda sector of
Punjab. During the battle, his gun battery was hit by indian
artillery attack. Musharraf, instead of retreating, off-loaded
the ammunition from the burning gun, before the fire could ignite.
For this act, he was awarded Imtiaz-I-Sanad. Even during higher
studies in Royal College of Defence Studies in the UK, his
subject was Arms Race in the subcontinent. He concluded in his
research that all outstanding disputes in Kashmir should be
resolved. In Zia-ul-Haq's regime, he was handpicked to crush the
agitation in PoK. He volunteered to serve in the Special Service
Group, a commando unit, and played a key role in Siachen. as
COAS, the first initiative he took was aggression in Kargil. Now
as the CE, the core issue for him is Kashmir.
FUTURE PROSPECTS: Though retiring next year, the General is in no
mood to step down. With the passage of time, few signs of
reforms, the initial hope that greeted the General is ebbing.
There is growing concern that the army-driven crisis in Kashmir
may eclipse hopes of reviving the economy. Intelligence agencies
sum up: `The General is likely to take rash decisions in case his
position is threatened or the situation spins out of his control.'