Comment: A general point

Musharraf exemplifies a further quality Indian politicians would do well to emulate. He’s prepared to face up to his critics, take their hostile questions and spend hours defending his position whilst attempting to change theirs.

I have to admit, I’ve never come across someone like Pervez Musharraf. This is not necessarily a compliment. It’s simply a statement of fact.

But think about it — he’s a former dictator who revels in free speech much like a dedicated democrat; he’s a general who is, amazingly enough, also a gripping orator; he’s a stern disciplinarian but he has a winning sense ofhumour; he projects a tough commando exterior but hisclothes reveal a sharp sense of sartorial elegance.

Indeed, he’s a man of so many apparent paradoxes, he’simpossible to define. Last Saturday, as he held the India Today Conclave spellbound for over two and a half hours, my mind jumped toour own politicians and I couldn’t help compare Musharrafto them. Would Manmohan Singh and Sonia Gandhi or LK Advani and Prakash Karat willingly submit themselves to such hostile questioning from an Indian audience and emerge both unscathed and with their amour propre intact?

The question answers itself. Yet Musharraf has done just that but with one critical difference. The audience — the lions’ den — he faced was not his compatriots but Indians, who could be more accurately described as his enemies.

In contrast, it’s not just impossible to picture Manmohan Singh or Sonia Gandhi addressing 500 Pakistanis in the banquet hall of the Marriott in Islamabad; the fact of the matter is they are not even prepared to visit the country.

And I would hate to think what could happen if they were questioned the way Musharraf was. Perish the thought! However, the truth is Musharraf illustrates a deeper difference between India and Pakistan

The writer is one of India’s leading television commentators and interviewers.


Economic ties between India and Pakistan will remain hostage to the disputes between the two countries. This was the terse message conveyed by former Pakistani president Pervez Musharraf at a business gathering here on Sunday.

Musharraf, who had a tough time fending off queries at a meet the previous day, said South Asia was being deprived of economic progress because of the ongoing conflict between India and Pakistan. "Our region, South Asia and Central Asia, is out of this loop because of the conflict between India and Pakistan. We can have permanent peace through the resolution of disputes. Peace and harmony are preconditions to improving business ties," Musharraf said at a gathering organised by Assocham.

The former Pakistan President also offered prayers at the historic Jama Masjid here on Sunday evening as hundreds of worshippers gathered there to get a glimpse of him, resulting in a stampede-like situation. ( Watch ) Musharraf drove to the 17th century architectural marvel around 6:40pm(local time) to offer the 'Magrib' namaz amidst heavy security. Around 5,000 people were in the mosque when Musharraf came there. He waved at the people who went berserk and almost created a stampede-like situation. His security staff escorted him out of the complex as people scrambled each other to have a close look at him. This was his second visit to the Jama Masjid. He last came here on an official visit in April 2005. Musharraf was born in Neharwali Haveli, a kilometre away from the Masjid, in Chandni Chowk on August 1943. After partition, his family had migrated to Pakistan.