Musharraf unspooled

A torrent of words, but little wisdom alas

One can digest Pervez Musharraf, the chief executive. One can countenance Musharraf, the president. But Musharraf, the orator? That’s stretching things a bit too far. The one conclusion that can be reached after the general’s bravura performance at his press conference on Friday, is that here is a man who is so much in love with himself that he doesn’t mind listening to himself for two hours and more. But he should have spared a thought for the rest of his audience. While Pakistan rightly won several brownie points for being far more media-savvy than India during the Agra process, this attempt to drive home the point appeared crude and manipulative. How open Pakistan is to media freedom will be tested, not by the odd press conference, but in its more long-term commitment to the free flow of information.

It is useful, nevertheless, to wade through the general’s copious observations. There was nothing very new on offer, no great insights, no fresh information. Indeed, there was a tireless reiteration of stated positions. What was educative, though, was the sheer sanctimoniousness of the man and the nonchalant fashion in which he skipped over the contradictions in his positions. Listen to him expounding on peace, even as he justifies the most brutal attacks on an unarmed and unsuspecting people by terming it a ‘‘freedom struggle’’. Watch him appealing to the people in both countries to ‘‘rise and strengthen the hands of the moderates who are yearning for peace’’, even as he lets it be known that he is extremely incensed with a Pakistani human rights activist for ostensibly speaking against her country on foreign soil. Observe his touchiness over the question whether a military man can solve the complex problems that beset relations between the two countries. Note the way he defends his right to decide on these matters on behalf of his country, despite not having been elected to office. Politicians, he maintains, do not have the guts to speak about Kashmir, while diplomats believe in speaking little and hiding more. In other words, it requires a straight speaking armyman to deliver: ‘‘I am a man in uniform and a person who has fought a war from the frontlines perhaps knows best the meaning of peace.’’ Yet, the man who praises his own candour, and who agrees that India and Pakistan are responsible enough to solve their disputes mutually, quietly makes a supposedly bilateral engagement into a trilateral one, by verbal sleight of hand.

Such clever dodges may go down well with the hardliners in Pakistan, but bodes ill for real movement forward from Agra. Of course, those who have a stake in the subcontinental peace process could take heart in the fact that Musharraf desisted from mentioning the UN resolutions — a distinct departure from the traditional Pakistani position. Although he maintained that India had gone back on two agreed drafts of the Agra declaration, he was also adroit enough to refuse comment on the reasons why this was the case. The man may be verbose but thankfully he is not careless. He would not, it appears, want to squander entirely the gains of his recent visit to India.