Pervez MUSHARRAF, Chart

Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf, facing impeachment on charges drawn up by the governing coalition, has announced that he is resigning. See details here
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Pervez Musharraf's Biography

Born August 11, 1943 at 12:00 PM (unknown) in New Delhi (Inde)
General Pervez Musharraf (Urdu: پرويز مشرف) (born August 11, 1943) is President of Pakistan and the Chief of Army Staff of the Pakistan Army who came to power in wake of a coup d'etat. He took power on October 12, 1999, ousting Nawaz Sharif, the elected Prime Minister, thereby assuming the title of Chief Executive. Later on, he also assumed office of President of Pakistan.

Early life
Pervez Musharraf was born in Nahr wali Haveli, situated in Mohallah Kacha Saad Ullah, Daryaganj in Delhi, British India on August 11, 1943. After the Partition of India, Musharraf along with his parents immigrated to Pakistan and chose to settle in Karachi. He stayed in Delhi for three years and did his education from Motilal Nehru college. He comes from a lower middle class family; his father, Syed Musharraf Uddin, worked for the foreign ministry as a clerk in the Pakistan Embassy in Turkey. His duties have included diplomatic signal receiving during his career. He spent his early years in Ankara, Turkey, from 1949 to 1956 and speaks fluent Turkish as well as being a fan of Istanbul's Beşiktaş JK. Musharraf is married to Begum Sehba, who is from Okara; they have one son, Bilal Musharraf who is a graduate student at Stanford University and a daughter Ayla Raza who works as an architect in Karachi, and have four grandchildren, two from each child.

Education
Musharraf attended Saint Patrick's School, Karachi, graduating in 1958 before going on to attend Forman Christian College in Lahore. For seven years his family lived in Turkey as his father worked as a clerk in the Pakistan Embassy in Ankara. He reveals in his memoirs that he was in a critical condition after falling from a mango tree as a teenager, and he treats this as his first direct experience with death. He also did a certificate course in Delhi for media management from Delhi university.

Military career

In 1961, he entered the Pakistan Military Academy at Kakul, graduated 11th in his class and was commissioned in 1964 in the Artillery Regiment (16(SP) Self Propelled artillery unit now based in Bahawalpur,PK). Later he joined Special Services Group and then was posted to Field Artillery Regiments. A graduate of the Staff College, Quetta, and the National Defence College, Rawalpindi, Musharraf is also a graduate of the Royal College of Defence Studies of the United Kingdom. In 1965, Musharraf reveals in his memoirs that he was charged with taking unauthorized leave and was about to be court-martialed for it, but was let off due to the war with India.

Indo-Pakistani War
Musharraf participated in the Indo-Pakistani War of 1965 as the 2nd Lieutenant in the 16 (SP) Field Artillery Regiment. His regiment saw action as part of the First Armoured Division’s offensive in the Khemkaran sector, where a major offensive was planned against the Indian Army. Despite possessing a quantitative advantage and significant superiority in armor, the 1st armoured division (labelled "pride of the Pakistan Army") suffered a crushing defeat and Khemkaran became known as "Patton Nagar" or graveyard of Pakistani tanks. By all accounts the vital advance failed at the Battle of Asal Uttar, as Pakistan lost a golden opportunity to make major strategic gains, and was a turning point in the war. His regiment was later moved to the Lahore front which was seriously threatened by the Indian Army. Later on it was sent to take part in the major battles around Chawinda.. During the war Musharraf was noted for sticking to his post under shellfire.

Later, in the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971 he served as a Company Commander in the SSG Commando Battalion. Originally scheduled to be flown to East Pakistan along with other SSG troops, he was redeployed in Punjab as war broke out and all flights over India were cancelled. He later admitted that he "broke down and wept" when he heard the "disgusting" news of Pakistan's unconditional surrender to India. Later he commanded Regiments of Artillery, thereafter an Artillery Brigade and then went on to command an Infantry Division. In September 1987, he was instrumental in giving orders to a newly formed SSG at Khapalu base (Kashmir), which launched an unsuccessful assault to capture the Indian held posts of Bilafond La in Siachen Glacier.

On promotion to the rank of Major General on January 15, 1991, he was assigned the command of an Infantry Division. Later, on promotion to Lieutenant General on October 21, 1995 he took over command of 1 Corps, the elite strike Corps. In 1998, following the resignation of General Jehangir Karamat, he was personally promoted over other senior officers by Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, as an obedient officer and took over as the Army Chief of Staff.

Role in Kargil Conflict
Main article: Kargil War
From May to July 1999, Pakistan and India were involved in the Kargil Conflict, an armed conflict between the two countries in the Kargil district of Kashmir. It was planned and executed during General Musharraf's term as the Pakistani Army Chief of Staff under Prime Minister Sharif. The conflict sparked tensions between civic and military branches of government and, ultimately triggered P.M. Sharif's decision to dismiss General Musharraf.

Sharif has claimed that Musharraf was solely responsible for the Kargil attacks. On the other hand, Musharraf claims that the decision was made by Sharif, who was under United States pressure. Ex-CENTCOM Commander Anthony Zinni, and P.M. Sharif, have stated that Musharraf requested that the Prime Minister withdraw Pakistani troops from Kashmir.

Musharraf's role in planning the Kargil attacks has been universally criticized by several independent reports for showing "a shocking lack of strategy."

Pakistani regular army officers reported serious logistic problems in the Kargil operation as they went deeper into Indian held Kashmir. Starvation of soldiers was reported. Casualties on both sides had been particularly heavy in Kargil. It is speculated that decision of then PM Nawaz Sharif to reprimand the corp commanders believed to have performed poorly was communicated to Musharraf but Musharraf sided with those corp commanders and saw an opportunity for a take-over. Musharraf had good relations with Jahangir Karamat from whom he took over the command. Soon after the coup, one of the first to be appointed as minister was journalist Maleeha Lodhi who was close to Jahangir Karamat. Also Shaukat Aziz, now PM, who volunteered to improve the economy. Western Banks came to rescheduling Pakistani loans briskly which was suffering from sanctions post Atomic Test.

Presidency (2001 - Present)

Military Coup d'état
Main article: 1999 Pakistani coup d'état
Musharraf became de facto Head of Government (using the title Chief Executive and assuming extensive powers) of Pakistan following a bloodless coup d'état on 12 October 1999. That day, the constitutional Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif attempted to dismiss Musharraf and install Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) Director Khwaja Ziauddin in his place. Musharraf, who was out of the country, boarded a commercial airliner to return to Pakistan. Senior Army Generals refused to accept Musharraf's dismissal, which was deemed unconstitutional by the Supreme Court. Sharif ordered the Karachi airport closed to prevent the landing of the airliner, which then circled the skies over Karachi. In the coup, the Generals ousted Sharif's administration and took over the airport. The plane landed, allegedly with only a few minutes of fuel to spare, and Musharraf assumed control of the government. Sharif was put under house arrest and later exiled. He and other leaders have subsequently been prevented from entering Pakistan. Reportedly, the disagreement between Musharraf and Sharif centred around the Prime Minister's desire to find a diplomatic resolution to the conflict with India in the Kashmir region.

The existing President of Pakistan, Rafiq Tarar, remained in office until June 2001. Musharraf formally appointed himself President on June 20, 2001, just days before his scheduled visit to Agra for talks with India.

Elections
Shortly after Musharraf's takeover, several people filed court petitions challenging his assumption of power. However he got The Oath of Judges Order 2000 issued. It required the judges to take a fresh oath of office swearing allegiance to military rule. Judges must swear that they will make no decisions against the military rule. Many judges refused and resigned in protest. Subsequently on May 12, 2000, the Supreme Court of Pakistan, now filled with judges who were supportive of the General and who had taken the oath not to make any decisions against the Military Junta, ordered Musharraf to hold general elections by October 12, 2002. In an attempt to legitimize his presidency and assure its continuance after the approaching restoration of democracy, he held a referendum on April 30, 2002 to extend his presidential term to five years after the October elections. However, the referendum was boycotted by the majority of Pakistani political groupings, which later complained that the elections were heavily rigged, and voter turnout was 30% or below by most estimates. A few weeks later, Musharraf went on TV and apologized to the nation for "irregularities" in the referendum.

General elections were held in October 2002 and a plurality of the seats in the Parliament was won by the PML-Q, a pro-Musharraf party. However, parties opposed to Musharraf effectively paralysed the National Assembly for over a year.

The deadlock ended in December 2003, when Musharraf made a deal with the Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal party, a six-member coalition of Islamic parties, agreeing to leave the army by December 31, 2004. He subsequently refused to keep his promise. With that party's support, pro-Musharraf legislators were able to muster the two-thirds supermajority required to pass the Seventeenth Amendment, which retroactively legalized Musharraf's 1999 coup and many of his decrees.

In an interview in March 2007, Musharraf said that he intends to stay in the office for another five years. The leader of the pro-Musharraf party has also said that Musharraf would be re-elected from the current assemblies and not after the 2007 elections.

October 6 election
Pervez Musharraf gambled to run for re-election on October 6 (the date set by the Election Commission). Also, On September 20, 2007, an Islamist Web site announced the release of a new video from Osama bin Laden on the declaration of war versus Musharraf and the Pakistani army.

On October 6, 2007, Pervez Musharraf won a vote to be re-elected Pakistan's president. However, the Supreme Court ruled that no winner will be proclaimed until it decides on the legality issue. A deal with Benazir Bhutto was equivalent to her no opposition boycott of the election. Musharraf dismissed corruption charges against her and allowed the power-sharing deal.

Wajihuddin Ahmed
On September 24, 2007, the president of the Supreme Court bar association, Munir Malik announced that former Supreme Court judge Wajihuddin Ahmed (who would file nomination by Thursday) will challenge Pervez Musharraf in Pakistan's October presidential election. Ahmad has little chance of defeating Musharraf (since the president is elected by parliament and provincial assemblies). Also, 24 persons were detained due to protest outside the court in Islamabad.

Electoral College vote
In a vote of confidence on January 1, 2004, Musharraf won 658 out of 1,170 votes in the Electoral College of Pakistan, and according to Article 41(8) of the Constitution of Pakistan, was "deemed to be elected" to the office of President until October 2007.

Assassination attempts
On December 14, 2003, General Musharraf survived an assassination attempt when a powerful bomb went off minutes after his highly-guarded convoy crossed a bridge in Rawalpindi. Musharraf was apparently saved by a jamming device in his limousine that prevented the remote controlled explosives from blowing up the bridge as his convoy passed over it. It was the third such attempt during his four-year rule. Eleven days later, on December 25, 2003, two suicide bombers tried to assassinate General Musharraf, but their car bombs failed to kill the president; 16 others nearby died instead. Musharraf escaped with only a cracked windscreen on his car. Militant Amjad Farooqi was apparently suspected of being the mastermind behind these attempts, and was killed by Pakistani forces in 2004 after an extensive manhunt. On July 6, 2007, there was another attempted assassination, when an unknown group fired an anti-aircraft gun at Musharraf's plane as it took off from a runway in Rawalpindi. 39 people were arrested, detained and put at an undisclosed location by a joint team of Punjab Police and Pakistan Intelligence Agencies.

Nothing has been heard in Newspapers about this attempt since the above but which according to papers could have been a serious attempt had a heavier weapon been fired and not just simple rifle. This attack coincided with the Hafsa /Red Mosque Girl Madrassa operation. Nevertheless no serious Assassination attempt has occurred since the Al-Qaeda attack, giving an opportunity to Afghanistan's Karzai to talk of softness on militants. This may have been due to his extreme security on ground and from air when he is on the move since 2004 .

Domestic issues

Elections during Musharraf's administration
On 12 May 2000, the Supreme Court ordered Musharraf to hold national elections by 12 October 2002; elections for local governments took place in 2001. Elections for the national and provincial legislatures were held in October 2002, with no party winning a majority. In November 2002, Musharraf handed over certain powers to the newly elected Parliament. The National Assembly elected Mir Zafarullah Khan Jamali as Prime Minister of Pakistan, who in turn appointed his own cabinet.

On January 1, 2004 Musharraf won a confidence vote in the Electoral College of Pakistan, consisting of both houses of Parliament and the four provincial assemblies which are dominated by the landed elite of the country, most of whom have been given governmental posts under Musharraf. Musharraf received 658 out of 1170 votes, a 56% majority, but many opposition and Islamic members of parliament walked out to protest the vote. As a result of this vote, according to Article 41(8) of the Constitution of Pakistan, Musharraf was "deemed to be elected" to the office of President. His term now extends to 2007.

Prime Minister Jamali resigned on 26 June 2004, after losing the support of party, the PML-Q. His resignation was at least partly due to his public differences with the party chairman Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain, and was rumoured to have happened at the command of General Pervez Musharraf, although neither man has confirmed this. Jamali had been appointed with the support of Musharraf's and the pro-Musharraf PML(Q). Most PML(Q) parliamentarians formerly belonged to the Pakistan Muslim League party led by Nawaz Sharif, and most ministers of the cabinet were formerly senior members of other parties, joining the PML(Q) after the elections upon being offered powerful offices. It is believed that Musharraf replaced Jamali due to his poor performance and in his place Musharraf nominated Shaukat Aziz, the minister for finance and a former employee of Citibank and head of Citibank Private Banking as the new prime minister. The talk of Jamali leaving were around days before Jamali went but it was denied as rumour by politicians and even Jamali himself. Musharraf choose Shaukat Aziz due to his successful measures in revitalizing Pakistan's economy as the Finance Minister. The new government is mostly supportive of Musharraf, who remains the President and Head of State in the new government. Musharraf continues to be the active executive of Pakistan, especially in foreign affairs. Although whether he stays the president after he gives up the post of Chief of Army staff is still to be seen.

Dual-office controversy
A pro-Musharraf party, the PML-Q, won a plurality in the elections of October 2002, and formed a majority coalition with independents and allies such as the MQM. Nevertheless, the opposition parties effectively deadlocked the National Assembly, refusing to accept the legitimacy of Musharraf's authority. In December 2003, as part of a compromise with the main Islamist opposition group, the Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal, an alliance of Islamic parties, General Musharraf said he would step down as Army Chief by January 1, 2005. In return, the MMA agreed to support a constitutional amendment that would retroactively legalize Musharraf's coup, and restore some formal checks and balances to Pakistan's system of government. In late 2004, Musharraf went back on his agreement with the MMA and pro-Musharraf legislators in the Parliament passed a bill allowing Musharraf to keep both offices.

Petitions for disqualification

On September 17, 2007, Benazir Bhutto accused Pervez Musharraf 's allies of pushing Pakistan to crisis by refusal to restore democracy and share power. A 9-member panel of Supreme Court judges deliberated on 6 petitions (including Jamaat-e-Islami's, Pakistan's largest Islamic group) for disqualification of Musharraf as presidential candidate. Bhutto stated that her party may join other opposition groups, including Nawaz Sharif's. Attorney-general Malik Mohammed Qayyum stated that, pendente lite, the Election Commission was "reluctant" to announce the schedule for the presidential vote. Bhutto's party Farhatullah Babar stated that the Constitution could bar Musharraf from being elected again because he holds the army chief's post. "As Gen. Musharraf is disqualified from contesting for President, he has prevailed upon the Election Commission to arbitrarily and illegally tamper with the Constitution of Pakistan."

On September 28, 2007, in a 6-3 voted, the court presided by Judge Rana Bhagwandas ruled: "These petitions are held to be non-maintainable." The judgment removed obstacles to Musharraf's election bid.

Economy
After nuclear tests were carried out in 1998, during the Sharif government, the United States and Nato imposed sanctions on the country. When Musharraf came to power in the coup d'etat the following year Pakistan was expelled from the commonwealth , this initially compounded the economic problems - and many experts claimed Pakistan was a failed state, as it was close to bankruptcy and investor confidence was at an all-time low. After Musharraf promised support in the hunt for Osama Bin Laden - sanctions were lifted

Musharraf then appointed Shaukat Aziz a former Citibank executive as finance minister, . World powers weighed in for debt rescheduling to reward Pakistan due to the War on Terror, which helped in saving hundreds millions of dollars, in addition to securing new loans. As a result, foreign exchange reserves increased exceeding $16 billion in 2006, but at the same time foreign debt hit an all time high topping $40 billion . Critics claim that national institutions have been privatized at throw way prices through bogus bids, however the government claims that the economy has grown in several sectors, and that per capita income of Pakistan has more than doubled in the last 7 years.

Poverty Alleviation
Immediately assuming power, Pervez Musharraf made promises of poverty alleviation, and his ministers continue to provide controversial figures. Pakistan has, however, recently witnessed the worst of its wheat crises, and high inflation. Despite "producing a bumper crop of 23.5 million tons" of wheat, the country suffered the worst shortages of wheat in the summer of 2007, with the prices of flour rising by more than 20%.

Corruption
When Musharraf came to power, he claimed that the corruption in the government bureaucracy would be cleaned up.. However, as many analysts have noted, his regime has done little to quash corruption, even years into his administration.. In fact, Pakistan, which was ranked 79th in Transparency International's Corruption Perceptions Index in 2001, dropped to 142 in 2006, placing it in the bottom quarter of the list, 22 spots away from the last entry.

According to another survey by Transparency International, Pakistani public opinion perceived the first and second terms of Musharraf's administration as respectively more corrupt than the first and second terms of previous administrations led by Benazir Bhutto and Mr. Sharif. However, that survey also indicates that public opinion perceived the second terms of all three leaders as being more corrupt than their first terms, respectively. And, furthermore, any one of those leader's second terms was perceived as being more corrupt than any of those leaders first terms. In fact, Ms. Butto's second term was perceived as being the second most corrupt according to those sampled by the survey. Gen. Musharraf's second term was perceived as being the most corrupt term of office among the those of the three leaders.

According to a combined poll done by Dawn News, Indian Express and CNN-IBN, a majority believe that corruption during this administration has increased. An Asian Development Bank report on the state of the country during the 60th year of Independence describes it as a country with "poor governance, endemic corruption and social indicators that are among the worst in Asia".

There have also been allegations that corrupt servicemen aren't being prosecuted because of the junta's clout. Pakistani media too have alleged that individual corruption of the previous government was replaced by institutionalised corruption of the Pakistan Army, awarding land deeds and a life of luxury to its officers..

Later in 2007, his government cost national exchequer hundreds of millions of Rupees to hire teams of expensive lawyers to represent his government in courts. In one such case regarding the privatization of Pakistan Steel Mills Corporation, whose worth was stated to be Rupees 600 billion, and which was sold out for mere Rupees 20.6 billions , the government had spent Rupees 90 million, with Sharifuddin Pirzada alone getting away with 6.6 million rupees.

Suspension and reinstatement of Chief Justice Chaudhry
On March 9, 2007, General Pervez Musharraf suspended the Chief Justice of Pakistan, Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry. In an interview about the matter given to Geo TV, Musharraf stated that Chaudhry himself wished to meet with him and Musharraf then presented him with evidence related to charges made against Chaudhry for abuse of office. Other sources maintain that Chaudhry was summoned by the General at his Army residence in Rawalpindi and asked to explain his position on a list of charges brought against him from several quarters. Chaudhry was demanded to resign, but he refused and was detained. While this was not confirmed by the Affidavit presented by him in Supreme Court, While affidavits by other people in same case has said that it was not true and he (Chief Justice) has asked to meet the President and was not asked to resign. Meanwhile, another senior judge, Justice Javaid Iqbal, was appointed as the acting Chief Justice of the Supreme Court.

Musharraf's moves sparked protests among Pakistani lawyers. On 12 March 2007, lawyers across Pakistan began boycotting all court procedures in protest against the suspension. In the capital Islamabad, and in other cities such as Lahore, Karachi and Quetta, hundreds of lawyers dressed in black suits attended rallies, condemning the suspension as unconstitutional. More than twenty lawyers were injured in clashes with police during the demonstrations in Lahore. On 16 March, demonstrations became more widespread, and included protesters outside the legal community. Slowly the expressions of support for the ousted Chief Justice gathered momentum and by May, protesters and opposition parties took out huge rallies against Musharraf and his tenure as army chief was also challenged in the courts. Rallies held by the MQM and other political parties left more than 40 people dead in firefights in the streets of Karachi, and the offices of AAJ TV were caught in the crossfire and sustained damage. Opposition parties have accused the government and Rangers of not doing enough to stop the violence.

Pakistan's Supreme Court on 20 July reinstated Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry. It also dismissed misconduct charges that Musharraf filed against him.

The Loss of supreme court as an ally of Musharaf regime has been a serious débâcle as Pakistanis take their supreme court decisions quite seriously. Musharaf government till now has not given up the idea of bringing a new L.F.O (Legal framework order) and ask for fresh oaths from judges as it did before . Severe resistance from now independent media and Lawyers can occur if that happens .

Lal Masjid and its Aftermath
The standoff between the Pakistani government and the clerics of the Lal Masjid in Islamabad finally erupted into full scale violence on the morning of 8th July 2007 when the official government delegation led by Shujaat Hussain, declared that the negotiations with the militants holed up in the mosque have reached an agreement. General Pervez Musharraf refused to accept the mutual agreement, and drafted a new proposal of agreement, and gave the militants half an hour to accept the agreement.

In addition to militants, there were several hundred students, many of who were young girls, whom the Pakistan claims were being used as human shields.

After the negotiations failed the troops were given the go ahead to storm the complex. Codenamed ‘Operation Silence’ the objective was to capture or kill the militants if they resisted - as well as rescuing all the students kept as hostages.

The Lal Masjid issue had put President Musharraf in a tough spot. The battle lines had clearly been drawn and reflected the social strife that plagues Pakistani society today - the conflict between secular and fundamental forces in Pakistan. Many in Pakistan see this incident in Islamabad as indicative of the greater struggle that Pakistani society has recently been witnessing.

President Musharraf had been criticised for some for his inaction against the Lal Masjid, many observers believe the final straw may have been the abduction of seven Chinese nationals.

Action against the Lal Masjid had become unavoidable for Musharraf as they had been directly challenging his authority in the capital of Pakistan.

There is an ongoing Supreme court inquiry going on slowly about Red Mosque. Loss of life was considerable and truth as to what happened, few dozens or hundreds died and what was used in operation against students and why and were the students seriously armed all remains largely unknown. Hafsa was the largest female Quran Madrassa in Pakistan. This use of force led to permanent rupture between the religious community and the government and was welcomed by Benazir Bhutto. The in charge corp commander of that operation is one of the generals from which the next Army chief of Pakistan has to be decided upon. Some claim that up to 1500 students mostly young girl students were victims of incendiary bombs, this claim is supported by victims arms and body parts dumped and found by media near ravines.

The militants struck back several weeks later through a bomb attack in an army mess and killed several commandos of the Karar unit who the militants claimed killed the Hafsa Madrassa students. This attack might have removed several witnesses of Hafsa student massacre but more so is seen as a warning to government that they can strike back in such high security area closed to all. It is still not clear whether it was bomb or suicide Bomber and which group was responsible

Imposing Emergency in Pakistan
On August 8, 2007 a rumour spread across Pakistan that a state of emergency was going to be enforced across the country. The rumour was picked by the electronic media. Government Ministers confirmed that the option of enforcing emergency was being considered due to “internal and external threats” that the country was facing. Prompted by the news reports, Condoleezza Rice made a 17-minute telephone call to Musharraf. A senior western diplomat noted that it is likely that Ms Rice persuaded the general to not impose such an emergency. . On 9th August-2007 General Musharraf confirmed that he would not be imposing emergency in Pakistan. This was followed by a clarification from the president of United States that the imposition of emergency in Pakistan was not a reality. Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain, President of Pakistan Muslim League (PML) admitted that he had suggested the imposition of “partial emergency” in the country. He also said that the government is still considering the imposition of emergency. However, the Karachi Stock Exchange fell after the rumour spread that the government is imposing emergency in Pakistan. The Karachi Stock Exchange 100 Index fell 382.61, or 2.8 percent, to close at 13,181.94, the largest fluctuation among markets included in global benchmarks.

Meeting with Benazir Bhutto
Also on August 8, Benazir Bhutto spoke about her secret meeting with Musharraf on July 27, in an interview on the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation.

On September 14, 2007, Deputy Information Minister Tariq Azim stated that Bhutto won't be deported, but must face corruption suits against her. He clarified the rights of Nawaz Sharif and Benazir Bhutto to return to Pakistan: "Nawaz Sharif's case was different. He went back to Saudi Arabia because of an undertaking he had with the Saudi government; She (Bhutto) was always allowed to come back."Pakistan People's Party Farhatullah Babar said that Benazir Bhutto will forthwith declare the exact date of her return: "We are announcing the date of the return for Benazir Bhutto to Pakistan at 5:00 pm (1200 GMT)" (Makhdoom Amin Fahim will publish it at a news conference in Islamabad." Pervez Musharraf faced a rising militant violence, with a suicide bombing killing 15 elite commandos on September 13. Bhutto declared her return from 8 years exile on October 18. Makhdoom Amin Faheem, vice chair of Pakistan Peoples Party said that "Benazir Bhutto will be landing in Karachi on October 18."

n October 2, 2007, Gen. Pervez Musharraf named Lt. Gen. Ashfaq Kayani, as vice chief of the army starting October 8. If Musharraf wins the presidency and resigns his military post, Kayani will be army chief. Meanwhile, Minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmed stated that officials agreed to grant Benazir Bhutto amnesty versus pending corruption charges.

False Rumor of Resignation of Army Leadership
The Associated Press reported on August 29 that Musharraf has agreed to step down as army chief.However, Musharraf confirmed within 24 hours of the report that he was to do no such thing and that he does not accept deadlines indicating that he was not happy with Benazir's demands.

Benazir Bhutto who vowed to return to her country “very soon” announced that she will discuss details of her return on 14 September even if there had been deal with Gen. Pervez Musharraf who is stepping down as army chief but will seek a new term as president. Nawaz Sharif will return to challenge Gen. Musharraf.

There are strong rumours in newspapers such as the "The news" and behind the scene all is set to appoint the 10 corp commander as next army chief quoting his seniority, Hafsa operation performance and family background similar to Tariq Aziz the national security adviser but that if Musharaf decides to resign. Some consider the ISI chief as another possible contender quoting his proximity to PPP and ethnicity. However if Musharaf resigns sooner than next month then there are two existent four star generals, the well connected chairman joint chiefs and the next in line vice army chief.

Credence to his imminence of leaving as army chief was also given by an interview by Mushahid Hussain , a Musharaf family friend , Ruling party PML(Q) secretary General whe he said that Musharaf will become Mr.Musharaf the president after elections . Similarly a semijoke cut by Ruling party president Shujjat Hussain and some other Musharaf watchers implying a contest between Shehba The Wife of Musharaf and others (as covering candidate) was taken to mean that he was not sure if Musharaf will be allowed by court to contest as president. Meanwhile supreme court has taken extra security precautions as Musharaf's followers issued statements implying imminent clash with the chief justice.

Return of Shariff Brothers
On September 7, 2007, judge Shabbir Hussain Chatha ordered police to arrest Shahbaz Sharif, brother of Nawaz Sharif and produce him before the court, after the hearing in Lahore. The court ruled that "Shahbaz Sharif should be arrested (at) whichever airport he lands at." Nawaz Sharif too faces detention on the pair's planned return from exile to Pakistan on September 10, 2007.

Nawaz Sharif was arrested and taken into custody 3 hours after arriving home and police brought Sharif from an airport lounge to a bus. Sharif's British lawyer, Amjad Malik, stated Sharif was taken into detention on a helicopter. Sharif told Reuters he was happy to be home: "It's a great feeling. Up to here it's fine but beyond, through there, I don't know," he said in the airport lounge. He only left his aircraft after a tense 90-minute standoff with authorities and he was driven to a terminal building and entered the VIP lounge. Before his arrival, authorities detained 4,000 of his supporters and several leaders of his Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz), including the chairman, inter alia.Sharif initially refused to hand over his passport to immigration officials on the plane. Finally, the plane carrying Nawaz Sharif left Pakistan for Saudi Arabia. "He has been sent back," a senior security official told AFP, as local television showed a Pakistan International Airlines plane carried deported Sharif from Islamabad airport.

On September 10, 2007, Nawaz Sharif, 57, landed at Jeddah airport arrived in the Red Sea , Jeddah, met by Saudi intelligence chief Prince Miqren bin Abdul Aziz. Pakistan's Religious Affairs Minister Ijaz-ul Haq stated that "He has not only embarrassed Pakistan but also the leadership of Saudi Arabia by violating the agreement.." The European Union asked the Pakistani government to respect the court ruling, for Sharif should have the chance to defend himself in a Pakistani court. In Washington, Sean McCormack of the White House (joined by India) stated that the deportation was an "internal matter" but said that elections should be "free and fair". But US organisation Human Rights Watch accused Pervez Musharraf of violating international law. Sharif's Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz party condemned the deportation by filing a contempt suit in the Pakistan Supreme Court. His brother Shahbaz Sharif changed return plans at the last minute.

Mass walkout
On October 2, 2007, 85 Pakistani opposition lawmakers resigned from the country's parliament to derail President Pervez Musharraf's reelection bid. The Parliament is will elect the new president before October 15. National Assembly Speaker Chaudhry Amir Hussain stated that the resignations would not affect the presidential election. Under Pakistani law, the national parliament and provincial assemblies choose the president. The current parliament is expected to elect a president before October 15, with the new five-year term starting on November 15.

Popularity Ratings
By August 2007 Musharraf became increasingly unpopular. A International Republican Institute survey showed that 64% of the population did not want another term to be granted to Musharraf as the president of Pakistan. The Economist reported that the country was in a mess even by Pakistan standards. A respected journalist Ayaz Amir stated that the General was “the author of his own misfortune”. The article stated that unlike other dictators Musharraf has an easy exit that should be heeded to.

President Musharaff admitted that his popularity was on a decline. The president admitted that “Yes, my popularity has been reduced. Yes, I agree with you,” . The Dawn, a leading news paper, conducted a survey showed that about 54.5% urban Pakistanis believe that military should have no role in politics while 65.2% want Gen Pervez Musharraf to leave the office of the president .

However, more recent surveys shows that Musharaffs popularity has further decreased. A survey conducted by Terror Free Tomorrow shows that Osama Bin Ladin is more popular in Pakistan than President Musharaff. According to poll results, bin Laden has a 46 percent approval rating. Musharraf's support is 38 percent. U.S. President George W. Bush's approval rating is 9 percent. 'Poll: Bin Laden tops Musharraf in Pakistan. But many analysts believe that the surveys as above are misleading as they do not lead to realization of ground situation because for average Pakistanis Bin Laden is a remote largely video & Media based character.

The loss of popularity of Musharaf has been multifaceted. His fondness for challenging taboos has annoyed the religious right. Nonpolitical factors as complete absence of state support for the poor, disabled, elderly, and venerable concomitantly with extreme capitalism has put the poor on edge. Similarly lack of reforms in the judicial, police, law, education, and health sectors has led to a poor standing in the polls..

In an effort to boost his falling popularity ratings in an election year, Musharraf will be a regular guest star on a state-sponsored Q&A show titled "From the President's House" . The show will be aired weekly on PTV and partly or wholly on some private channels.

Foreign policy

Relations with India
Main article: Kargil War

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Musharraf was Chief of Army Staff at the time of Mujahideen incursions into India from Pakistan-administered Kashmir in the summer of 1999. Although Pakistan claimed that these were Kashmiri freedom fighters based in Indian-controlled Kashmir, later developments showed that they were Pakistani paramilitary soldiers backing up the separatists on the mountain top. After fierce fighting, Pakistani soldiers were pulled back due to pressure from the international community. Some reports suggest that Musharraf retreated after huge pressure on the former Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif from the American President Bill Clinton, who feared the conflict could turn into a nuclear catastrophe.

However, in Battle Ready, a book co-authored by ex-CENTCOM Commander in Chief Anthony Zinni and novelist Tom Clancy, the former alleges that Musharraf was the one who pushed Sharif to withdraw the Pakistani troops after being caught in a losing scenario. According to an ex-official of the Musharraf government, Hassan Abbas, it was Musharraf who planned the whole operation and sold the idea to Nawaz Sharif. The view that Musharraf wanted to attempt the Kargil infiltrations much earlier was also revealed by Former Pakistani PM Benazir Bhutto in an interview with a leading daily newspaper, where he had supposedly boasted that "he would hoist the flag of Pakistan atop the Srinagar Assembly" if his plan was executed PML(N), a leading Pakistan party added that Musharraf had planned the Kargil intrusions but panicked when the conflict broke out with India and decided to brief then- Pakistan premier Nawaz Sharif. Since the Kargil incident came just after the Lahore Peace Summit earlier that year, Musharraf, who is perceived by some Indians as the architect of the Kargil Conflict, is often regarded with scepticism in India.

In the middle of 2004, Musharraf began a series of talks with India to solve the Kashmir dispute. In addition to the Kashmir dispute, both leaders discussed the following issues: Wullar Barrage and Kishangaga power project, Baglihar Dam on the Chenab River being built by India in Jammu and Kashmir, Disputed Sir Creek estuary at the mouth of the Rann of Kutch, Siachin glacier, Issues of Gurdaspur and Ferozepur's status, Hindu-Muslim Relations, Autonomy for the Sikhs in Indian Punjab, Minority rights, Indian contentions that Pakistan is sponsoring "cross-border" terrorism.

Support for the War on Terror

Following the September 11, 2001 attacks in the United States, Musharraf sided with the United States against the Taliban government in Afghanistan after an ultimatum by the United States. Musharraf agreed to give the United States the use of three airbases for Operation Enduring Freedom. Secretary of State Colin Powell and other administration officials met with Musharraf. Musharraf's reversal of policy and help to the U.S. military was necessary in the U.S. bombing that rapidly overcame the Taliban regime. On September 19, 2001, Musharraf addressed the people of Pakistan and stated while he supported the Taliban, unless Pakistan reversed its support, Pakistan risked being endangered by an alliance of India and the USA. In 2006, Musharraf testified that this stance was pressured by threats from the U.S, and revealed in his memoirs that he had "war-gamed" the United States as an adversary and decided that it would end in Pakistan losing such a conflict, especially since arch rivals India would also join in such an attack.

Relationship with Al Qaeda
On July 22nd 2004, The Guardian reported that Omar Sheikh, a British-born Islamist, had, on the instructions of General Mahmoud Ahmed, the then head of Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), wired $100,000 before the 9/11 attacks to Mohammed Atta, the lead hijacker. When Ahmed was exposed by the Wall Street Journal as having sent the money to the hijackers, he was forced to retire by President Musharraf. The 9/11 commission did not investigate this funding.

In September 2007, in the aftermath of the Lal Masjid incident and rising tension, Bin Laden urged his followers to fight a holy war against Musharraf

Richard Armitage comments on controversy
During a September 24, 2006 interview with CBS News's 60 Minutes program (interviewed by Steve Kroft), Musharraf described how then-U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage had called Musharraf's intelligence director shortly following the September 11, 2001 attacks and threatened military action if Pakistan did not support the U.S.-led War on Terror. According to Musharraf, Armitage warned: "Be prepared to be bombed. Be prepared to go back to the Stone Age" Furthermore, during an interview with Jon Stewart of The Daily Show on September 26, 2006, Musharraf stated that then-Secretary of State Colin Powell also contacted him with a similar message: "You are with us or against us." Musharraf refused to elaborate further, citing the then-upcoming release of his book, In the Line of Fire: A Memoir (ISBN 0-7432-8344-9). Armitage has, however, categorically denied that the U.S. used such harsh words to threaten Pakistan whereas President Bush has refrained from publicly acknowledging the possibility of the exact wordings being used. However, according to the press statement he said that "I was taken aback".

Nuclear proliferation
One of the most widely-reported controversies during Musharraf's administration arose as a consequence of the disclosure of nuclear proliferation by Dr. Abdul Qadeer Khan, the metallurgist known as the father of Pakistan's bomb. Musharraf has denied knowledge of or participation by Pakistan's government or army in this proliferation and has faced bitter domestic criticism for singularly vilifying Khan, a former national hero. Musharraf continues to enjoy the strong support of the White House and former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld. AQ Khan has been pardoned in exchange for cooperation in the investigation of his nuclear-proliferation network. However, he is still under house arrest, and is likely to remain so till the end of his days. The fate of those who were found to have conspired with Khan is yet to be decided.

Denouncing extremism
On January 12, 2002, Musharraf gave a landmark speech against Islamic extremism. He unequivocally condemned all acts of terrorism. He also pledged to combat Islamic extremism and lawlessness within Pakistan itself.

He has also used it to ban funding of madrasas and mosques from outside the country. At the same time as banning foreign funding of Islamic educational institutions, he made it compulsory for them to teach a whole host of additional subjects such as computing. This meant that many had to close due to the halt of funds from Pakistanis working abroad resulting in not being able to teach the additional subjects that he had made compulsory. Musharraf also instituted prohibitions on foreign students' access to studying Islam within Pakistan, an effort which began as an outright ban but was later reduced to restrictions on obtaining visas.

Critics doubt the ability of Musharraf to curb extremists, citing the escalation violence that is taking place, on the 13th of September 2007, 300 Pakistani troops were captured by Islamic militants as prisoners, Musharaf's own SSG unit had a serious bomb blast in which 16 died in an army mess as well as troops dying elsewhere in rocket attack in the North-West Frontier province and Tribal areas. In 2001 events like these especially suicide bombings were unknown.

Legacy
Pervez Musharraf claims to be a moderate leader, with liberal and progressive ideas. He has also expressed admiration for the founder of the Turkish Republic Kemal Ataturk. Musharraf's policy is often seen as a secularist counterpart to militant Islam.

His government maintains that Pakistan is prospering due to his economic and social reforms. Statements issued by his media wizards suggest significant improvement in the economy, Experts are, however, cautious about any optimism, since the steep rise in GDP is attributed to rebasing done in 2004. External debt, on the other hand, has for the first time hit $40 billion mark.

His government claims to be a champion of the freedom of press and media. However, following the media coverage of the carnage in Karachi on May 12, 2007, Musharraf attempted to curb the freedom of press by decree. The measure backfired, with severe backlash, and was eventually withdrawn. In order to counter rapidly growing anger and frustration among the masses against his policies, state owned television, PTV, has decided to air weekly shows involving him to bolster his approval ratings. On September 29, 2007, his government demonstrated the worst of aggression against the journalists. On the Constitutional Avenue, right in front of the Supreme Court, the state brutally baton charged journalists without any provocation who had gathered there not in protest but only to report news. 34 journalists were severely injured, the worst example of atrocity in the entire history of Pakistan including the previous periods of martial law.

He has expressed admiration for the right-wing General Rahimuddin Khan, the authoritarian martial law administrator of Balochistan throughout the 1980s. He was severely criticized by human rights organizations following his comments in response to the rape of Mukhtar Mai. On September 23, 2005, during a tape-recorded 50-minute interview with the Washington Post, Musharraf had suggested that rape was becoming a "moneymaking concern" in Pakistan. Mukhtar Mai, was earlier gang-raped on the orders of a village council in 2002.

Successor
On the 2nd of October 2007 Musharraf announced that after his retirement General ‎‎Ashfaq Parvez Kayani would assume the position of the Chief of Army Staff.

Books
Pervez Musharraf, In the Line of Fire: A Memoir (2006)

Source : Wikipedia

 

 

 

 

 

 

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