Pakistan benefits from Musharraf's savvy leadership

By Tom Plate

Pakistan had no way of knowing it at the time, but when the Twin Towers in Manhattan collapsed, its world prospects skyrocketed.

That's because Pakistan, abutting Afghanistan, suddenly became geopolitical ground zero for President George W. Bush. To right the wrongs of "911," he needed Pakistan on his side.

But would Pakistan, now a key collaborator for America, actually renounce its cozy relationship with Kabul and truly work with the West?

Indeed, it did and it has.

But had it not been for the military coup in 1999 — the one that so many in the West decried — things would have been different. The corrupt and inept parliamentary regime in Islamabad, a superficially democratic government, was replaced by the army, which installed its most cosmopolitan general, Pervez Musharraf, as president.

Predictably, the West groaned. But not many Pakistanis groaned: They were fed up with years of inept government by preening, envelope-pocketing parliamentarians.

So it was against all stereotypes that Musharraf, a simple man of humble, liberal origins — well-educated, definitely not a fascist, classically rising through societal ranks via a military career — happened to emerge as the country's strongman.

Almost from the outset, Musharraf impressed many Pakistanis with his patriotism and common sense. It certainly came as a surprise to the West that he proved no Hitler; of course, he was also not quite a Charles DeGaulle in the eloquence department, or even a stalwart Dwight David Eisenhower, whose military success led to national political acclaim. Even so, Musharraf won many people over because he reflected the general sensibility of the vast majority of common Pakistanis, not just the military or educated elite.

"The West doesn't understand that there is a huge 'silent majority' here," explains Julio Andrews, who represents the San Francisco-based Asia Foundation in Islamabad. "The Western media are not much interested in transmitting the image of a moderate Pakistan eager to embrace the reality of a globalized world. But that's its true reality."

Came 911, and Musharraf had to decide. As the Bush administration had put it: Are you with us or against us? Said Musharraf in an absolutely extraordinary speech to his nation on Sept. 19:

"If we make the wrong decision, our vital interests will be harmed. I ask you to trust me."

On the basis of how well the U.S. military campaign in Afghanistan apparently is going, the general came down on the right side: with George W. Bush and not Osama bin Laden. Ever since then, he has had the people's trust — and most of the country behind him. Pakistan should benefit from his leadership. Already he has put the more notorious mullah militants in jail as a warning to all the others to behave responsibly.

"None of our leaders has ever been so forthright about mullah demagoguery as he has been," says Pakistani TV journalist Mehnaz Akber Aziz, who conducted the first post-coup interview with Musharraf. "This man may well be the non-corrupt, caring, truly patriotic leader for which Pakistan has been aching." The president has also purged the powerful intelligence service of prominent pro-Taliban sympathizers and put army units on its border with Afghanistan to plug al-Qaida escape routes.

The effect in Pakistan has been almost epochal. The news media, while largely supporting Musharraf's tilt to the United States, have been free to criticize the government. Basic social issues, such as public education, are finally being comprehensively addressed.

Wendy Chamberlain, the U.S. ambassador there, has been urging Western investors to come to Pakistan to see for themselves. And the overall economy is improving; the foreign-reserve coffers now top $4 billion — a historic high.

Of course, Pakistan still gets little respect abroad, especially from the influential U.S. media. Consider the little battle royal at Rockefeller Center in New York, where the editors of Time magazine have been debating whether to put Osama bin Laden or British Prime Minister Tony Blair on its cover later this month as "Person of the Year." Why not Pakistan's Musharraf?

Tom Plate, a columnist with The Honolulu Advertiser and the South China Morning Post, is a professor at UCLA. (www.asiamedia.ucla.edu)