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Review of “In the Line of Fire” a memoir by Pervez Musharraf. published 2006
By Don Joshua
The last paragraph in this memoir is most pertinent. President Pervez Musharraf admits that while Pakistan has made progress under him, it still has a long way to go to become “a state that is a model to be emulated not shunned.”
Heads of state do not often write their memoirs while still in the seat of power. Except of course in Pakistan where there is a precedence of another Army officer, Field Marshal Mohammed Ayub Khan who wrote “Friends not Masters” while serving as President of Pakistan in the late 1960’s.
Memoirs are written for various reasons. The raconteur may wish to tell a story; share a vision; or give his version of an historical event. Musharraf’s book does all that but it is also self-serving. The reader is informed on numerous occasions what a good officer he is. Even while eulogizing his mentor Major General Rafi Alam, he throws in the sentence “I think he considered me his best commanding officer.”
Musharraf’s book reads well. He tackles some difficult subjects notably about Mukhtar Mai, the lady who was shamefully raped but had the courage to make her story public, both nationally and internationally. Regrettably 5 years after the event, the case is still pending in the courts of law. He also talks at length about A.Q. Khan, the rogue scientist who claimed to be the father of the “Islamic” atomic bomb but who buried his conscience to sell technical information to other nations without permission. He should have been charge-sheeted but Musharraf chose to pardon him.
But the most compelling reason to read his book is the detail of the events that brought him to the Presidency in October 1999. What seems to emerge, as one reads the story, is that he had a problem with the civilian government of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif. In trying to exert his authority, Sharif took some curious steps which backfired on him and brought the coup that put Musharraf in charge.
It is hard to conceive how Musharraf sitting incommunicado in an air-borne civilian plane could direct his Army Generals in 3 cities – Rawalpindi, Islamabad and Karachi – to take control of the airport, the media, the Defence Secretary and the Prime Minister’s office in the space of one hour. The reader is left with the impression that everything they did went according to a previous “plan”.
Musharraf was informed of his predicament at 6.45 p.m. and his plane landed at Karachi Airport at 7.48 p.m. The high-jacking drama, covered in four chapters, is fascinating but presented with an obvious personal bias; as is the description of the events that made him Army Chief the year before.
On the evening of October 7th, 1998 he was summoned to the Prime Minister’s office ASAP. He asked the Military Secretary “Should I come in uniform?” which was a strange question since Army officers wear a uniform only for battle or parade. In this case, it seems that Musharraf suspected that the PM wanted to pin on him the badges of his new rank and wanted to come prepared. Musharraf claims that he was taken by surprise. This is hard to believe from his account. Just before arriving at the Prime Minister’s office, he was informed by a Brigadier in the Inter Services Intelligence from Lahore that he was to be the new Chief. It seems incredulous that he as a Lieutenant General he did not know of the high-powered developments but a Brigadier did.
There are also derogatory comments made about a fellow officer which take away from the merit of the book. Musharraf had been picked as Army Chief instead of his batch-mate Lieutenant General Ali Kuli Khan Khattak. Only one officer can be selected as Army Chief. That is a matter of choice not seniority. Very few officers attain the rank of Lieutenant General but, by definition, those who do have something extra “on the ball”. Yet Musharraf says that Lieutenant General Ali Kuli Khan was a “mediocre” officer. It is rare in any Army for a “mediocre” officer to become a Lieutenant General.
Musharraf states that his men “loved him because he was just and compassionate”. One’s character is a product of one’s inheritance; environment; and education. Musharraf studied at the St. Patrick’s Catholic School in Karachi and Forman Christian College in Lahore. He observes that “Forman Christian College was known as a college for anglicized ‘modern’ students.” Perhaps it was a combination of his background and schooling that led to the development of his idea of “enlightened moderation” to ease the clash of religion in the world. Musharraf states unambiguously that enlightened moderation has nothing to do with Islam. As he puts it, it has more to do with Muslim emancipation.
The concept is defined as a two pronged strategy. The first prong is the rejection of terrorism and extremism in order to concentrate on socioeconomic development. This, he says, is the responsibility of the Muslim world. The second prong is a resolution of all political disputes afflicting Muslim societies, such as the Palestinian problem and the Kashmir deadlock. This, he naively says, is the responsibility of the West.
For his ideas to be implemented and his dream of a stable world, Musharraf would have to be like Ataturk of Turkey and lead Pakistan on “roads less traveled on.” He is perhaps the best person to do so and one hopes that he will be given the span of time, the strength and the support to move Pakistan into the main stream and out of “the line of fire”.
DON JOSHUA January 2007 Contact dondot@rogers.com Tel: 905-453-0803 |