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| India-Pakistan |
| Besieged by the Taliban, but thinking only of India |
| 2009-05-07 |
| by Irshad Manji Today, Pakistan's President drops in on America's. There will be forced smiles and fine gifts, but stern words must also be exchanged. Pakistan's Asif Ali Zardari seems more interested in demonizing India than in defeating the Taliban. Barack Obama can't afford to humour such misplaced priorities. How difficult will it be for him to extract serious change out of his Pakistani peer, fair-weather ally and duly elected, deeply compromised pain in the neck? I got a taste of the odds stacked against meaningful change myself when I confronted Pakistan's former president, Pervez Musharraf, at a recent gathering. General Musharraf, retired from both electoral politics and army service, owes no fealty to anyone. And he has never held a candle to the corruption that plagues his successor. That's precisely why our encounter proved so revealing - and so damned depressing. Two months ago, India Today, the news magazine of record in the subcontinent, invited me to address its annual conference. On the final night, delegates convened for a gala dinner where Gen. Musharraf was the keynote speaker. I sat at the head table, mere feet away during his address. He called himself a "man for peace," and, to everyone's surprise, he acknowledged the link between religious extremism and terrorism. Given these statements, I had to ask him about women's rights. Standing up, I began with salaam alaykum (peace be with you) - assuring Gen. Musharraf that I was posing my question as a fellow Muslim, and a faithful one at that. He got the hint. He smiled. Then, he soured. I asked if he would consider a postpresidential role "supporting the many Pakistani human-rights activists who are working against the epidemic of honour killings in your country." After a pause, he replied, "Would you like to ask another question?" "No," I responded. "Honour killings are an important issue, and this is a golden opportunity for you to declare before an august audience that you mean what you say." "Sit down!" he ordered. Turns out that even retired generals never really hang up their uniforms. For the sake of results, I did as he decreed. Gen. Musharraf launched into a dissertation about women's inequality being a problem all over the world, not just in Pakistan. He then insisted that his government did take steps to end discrimination against women. (He's right. Facing a robust campaign by Pakistani civil society, Gen. Musharraf did more to loosen the grip of strict sharia than the late Benazir Bhutto ever dared.) But to those women who remain dissatisfied, Gen. Musharraf said: If you try to climb a ladder too fast, you will fall off. (Perhaps he should read Letter from a Birmingham Jail, in which Martin Luther King wrote: "For years now I have heard the word 'Wait!' It rings in the ear of every Negro with piercing familiarity. This 'Wait' has almost always meant 'Never.' ") Imagine the impact that Gen. Musharraf's independent, out-of-office voice could have. A high-profile Muslim man with authoritarian credibility, publicly protesting against honour crimes, would give other Muslim men permission to ally with activist women. If that seems like a pipe dream, consider this: Months after 9/11, Gen. Musharraf famously spoke about the need for a Muslim enlightenment. By visibly opposing the abuse of faith that honour crimes brutally and blatantly represent, he would do his stated vision of Islam a huge service. Instead, we get prickly defensiveness from the promoter of religious moderation and the self-declared "man for peace." Now what can we expect from his far less competent, less compelling and in many ways less confident successor? True, Mr. Obama has a way of charming snakes. But charm won't cut it this time. Mr. Zardari's hold on power is more slippery than Mr. Zardari himself. Before he gets tough with Pakistan's real enemy - the Taliban - he'll reach deeper into the well of anti-India sentiment merely to hang on. I've glimpsed how nourishing that well can be, even for educated Pakistanis. India Today's broadcast arm aired my encounter with Gen. Musharraf, sparking reactions like this one from a physician: "It is hard for me to express in words how outraged I was when I saw you on TV [with Gen.] Musharraf and questioning how you can help him change the customs that trouble not just Pakistan, but India as well ... [S]top acting like India is the crème brûlée when it comes to women's rights. They should fix their own problems first. The best part of that segment was when Musharraf told you to 'sit down.' " Perhaps Mr. Obama should pull a Musharraf and instruct Mr. Zardari to sit down, and then to listen up. And finally to stand up - stand up to those who are decimating the secular ideals on which Pakistan was founded. Better an unpleasant conversation than unchecked thuggery in a nuclear neighbourhood. |
| Posted by:Steve White |
| #2 CHINA??? |
| Posted by: JosephMendiola 2009-05-07 23:50 |
| #1 Someone say fine gifts? |
| Posted by: .5MT 2009-05-07 05:50 |