Editorial»
Musharraf under attack
DEC 27 - P resident of Pakistan, General Pervez Musharraf, survived yet another assassination attempt yesterday when his convoy was attacked by car borne militants who were waiting near two petrol pumps in Rawalpindi. Musharraf was extremely lucky to have escaped by a hair’s breadth the daring bid on his life. Barely ten days ago, another attempt was made on the general’s life.
Barely had the last vehicle in his convoy crossed the Ammar Chowk Bridge in Rawalpindi on December 14, five bombs placed under the bridge detonated simultaneously. General Musharraf was returning to his residence from the Islamabad airport after a visit to Karachi. It was indeed a very lucky escape for Musharraf and for that he surely must thank the jamming devices fitted in the presidential cavalcade that effectively prevented the bombs from detonating as the cavalcade sped over the bridge.
Minutes after the attack, Pakistan’s Interior Minister Faisal Saleh Hayat appearing on state television bravely announced that “professional people” had most probably planted the bombs. Incidentally, such devices were never used in the past. In another statement that revealed the current goings on in Pakistan, Hayat suggested that “Recent developments in the region and peace moves with India could be an eyesore to certain elements.”
Investigations into which group or persons were responsible for the bomb blasts as well as the most recent murderous attacks on Musharraf are currently on in right earnest. The bomb explosions on the bridge were not the first attempt on Musharraf’s life. Barely two months ago, three Islamic militants of the Alami faction of the Harkat ul Mujahideen were sentenced to long prison terms for attempting to assassinate Musharraf last year.
A recent analysis by G Parthasarathy, an ex-Indian diplomat who had earlier served in Pakistan, says that there have been at least six or seven previous attempts on the general’s life. It goes on to add that “ intriguing about the recent attempt is the location of the bridge where the bomb blasts took place. The bridge is located barely a few hundred yards away from the Joint Staff Headquarters of the Pakistan armed forces. It is also close to the headquarters of the army’s 10 Corps — a crucial military formation that not only stages coups against democratically elected governments, but also controls the operations of jihadi groups operating in J&K. Musharraf’s residence is barely a few kilometres away. It would surprise no one if we later learn that Islamist elements in the armed forces were involved.”
The big question is: Who is hell bent on sunffing out the life of the General? There are reports in the Pakistani media that one of the banned jihadi groups operating across the LoC in Jammu and Kashmir might have acted singly or in partnership with the dreaded Taliban-Al Qaeda network of underground operatives in carrying out these dastardly attacks.
It is in this light that we must take the reported assertion of the Pakistan military establishment to the Western powers, especially America, that elusive Al Qaeda top honcho Bin Laden’s top aide
Ayman al Zawahiri was the mastermind behind the aborted bids on Musharraf’s life. Interestingly, it is this same Zawahiri who had not so long ago exhorted the Pakistan army to rise in defiance against the President. Clearly, the accusation put forth against Musharraf was that he “betrayed the cause of Islam” by stabbing the Taliban and the Al Qaeda in the back by joining hands with Bush and Co. Ironically, Musharraf himself at the time of siding with America had used the holy name of Islam to try to convince his home electorate about the need to back America in its battle against global terrorism.
Today Musharraf is being paid back in his own coin. He is being penalised for siding with a super power who needs him by their side to flush and wipe out the last remnants of terrorism from this part of the globe. Today, Musharraf is facing the stick and stands accused by his own once trusted military men, who feel the general has betrayed them for partaking of a longer stint in office. Until now Musharraf was doing a fine tight rope balancing act. While pleasing the Americans by helping them in their fight against world terrorism, he was also until now miraculously able to keep on a tight leash the formidable Talibanists and Al Qaeda activists who were being provided ample sanctuary in the rural heartlands of Pakistan bordering Afghanistan.
This is not the first attempt on the life of a military ruler in Pakistan. Earlier too there have been several attempts on the lives of military dictators. It is widely believed that General Zia ul Haq was killed in a tragic plane crash alleged to be the handiwork of some sections in the army owing allegiance to the Shiaite community. Even Benazir Bhutto was the subject of a failed coup when another major general made a brave but failed attempt to dislodge her democratically elected government.
It is in this light that I take Musharraf’s latest announcement of getting out of the general’s robes in 2004. He has already groomed his able friend General Yusuf Khan to take over from him, a development that reportedly has the blessings of the US. Under pressure from the Western powers, he has been forced to adopt a more conciliatory approach vis-a-vis his relations with India. He was even forced to go public with the statement that no longer was plebescite in Kashmir an issue while discussing the future direction of India-Pakistan relations. The immediate road ahead for Musharraf is long and peppered with a lot of potholes.
(The writer can be contacted at apanicker1@rediffmail.com)Posted on: 2003-12-28 05:16
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