Musharraf demolishes illegal part of his dream house

ISLAMABAD,(Imran Ali Teepu) Nov 11: Fallen from grace he might have, but former president Pervez Musharraf can still pull off a surprise. In an entirely unanticipated move, Mr Musharraf complied with a Supreme Court order recently, Dawn has learnt.

The Supreme Court had ordered the former president to demolish the excess illegal construction on his five-acre palatial farmhouse in Chak Shahzad. The order was issued during the suo moto hearing of a case of 499 farmhouses built in Chak Shahzad in violation of Islamabad`s Master Plan.

With five huge bedrooms, several lobbies and a swimming pool, Mr Musharraf`s farmhouse is estimated to be worth Rs250 million, informed a Capital Development Authority (CDA) official.

According to property experts, the built-up area was 12,500 sq. ft. of which 764 sq. ft. needed to be demolished. The CDA had also slapped a fine of Rs1.25 million for exceeding the permitted limit of covered area.

“The personal staff of the former president have submitted pictures of demolition of the farmhouse`s excess construction with the civic agency besides saying that they were all open to obey the law,” a senior official of the CDA said requesting anonymity.

According to a copy of the letter made available to Dawn , the principal secretary of the former president has requested the CDA to issue a No Objection Certificate (NOC) and has also welcomed the civic agency to conduct a survey if required in this respect.

In all it took five notices from the CDA to get a response from the former president`s staff but CDA officials are pleased with the cooperation shown and say that it has given them hope that other farmhouse owners who have violated building laws will demolish illegally raised structures as well besides paying their fines.

A senior official said: “The fine has also been paid and we are satisfied. Now the rest of these 499 farmhouses have to obey the law since it`s the order of the Supreme Court and even former President Musharraf obeyed it.”

He further detailed that once the Supreme Court order has been fully implemented, the civic agency will move to the next phase in another few months.

“These palatial farmhouses were leased for growing vegetables and fruit, and raising poultry for the citizens of Islamabad. We want to ensure that these leaseholders use the land for the purpose it was leased,” he added. “Otherwise, they will lose their ownership.”

Meanwhile, Barrister Saif, the spokesman for the former president, told Dawn : “The demolition of the excess area was done by the staff of the president. In all likelihood, the former president may have felt the need to have it demolished so gave the go-ahead.”

Barrister Saif elaborated that the “farmhouse is not that big” and that the “demolished area was hardly 20 feet where a shed was established for cattle.”

He clarified that the move to go ahead with the demolition was not a party decision. “It`s a personal decision. But even then we as a political party will obey the law of the land,” he concluded.

Musharraf denies presence of Mullah Omar in Pakistan

Former president Pervez Musharraf has said Taliban leader Mullah Omar 'is not and has never been in Pakistan'.

He also agreed that the relationship between Pakistan and the US has fundamentally 'broken down', saying it is at the 'lowest ebb'.

In an interview on BBC HardTalk, Musharraf said that Mullah Omar has 'no reason to be in Pakistan'.

Musharraf explained that Omar is in Kandahar and is an Afghan leader operating from the Afghan countryside.

Musharraf also vehemently denied the existence of Quetta Shura, which the US intelligence believes is headed by Mullah Omar from Balochistan.

"You say it is true, I say it is all nonsense," Musharraf said to presenter Stephen Sackur about the presence of the Quetta Shura.
"If you think that there is a Quetta Shura regularly meeting with conference tables and a flag of Quetta Shura and Taliban ...

this is all nonsense." For years, the US officials have said the one-eyed Omar is based in the south-western city of Quetta, not far from the Afghan border, where he heads a Taliban leadership council, or Shura gather.
Pakistan rejects the assertions that Omar is in Pakistan, or even that the so-called Quetta Shura exists.

But such denials came under question after al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden was found in the country after years of similar protestations.
During the interview, Musharraf was also asked about the Pakistani military's ignorance of Bin Laden's presence in Abbottabad, which the former general termed "bad luck".

He also agreed that the relationship between Pakistan and the US has "fundamentally broken down", saying it is at the "lowest ebb".

Musharraf has lived in exile since stepping down in 2008 but hopes to launch a political comeback next year.

Musharraf accuses India of playing 'great game' in Afghanistan

Former Pakistan president Pervez Musharraf has accused India of playing a “great game” in Kabul after the withdrawal of US troops from Afghanistan by forging an alliance to train its security forces though Islamabad had bent backwards to offer such services free of cost.
“India is certainly -- certainly doing that. And unfortunately, the Afghan government is going along,” Musharraf said when asked if he saw a new great game beginning where Pakistan and India are competing for influence in Afghanistan.
He said countries in the region are seeking to fill the void left by the US after withdrawal of its troops in 2014.
The former Pakistan army chief said Afghan President Hamid Karzai has refused to accept Pakistan's offer of training its security personnel.
“...I have been bending backwards, asking President Karzai, we opened out all our training institutions free of cost. Come to Pakistan and we'll train you. Not one has come,” he said.

Third political power needed to save Pakistan: Musharraf

LAHORE - All Pakistan Muslim League chief Pervez Musharraf announced his arrival in Pakistan on March 23.
Musharraf said that the current government was not running the affairs properly and there was no coordination among the different state institutions.

He revealed that Nawaz Sharif had wanted a Kashmir selloff. He further said that political ‘lota gardi’ was on a rise in Pakistan, and nobody knew when someone would change his or her party.In his telephonic address to party workers in Lahore, Musharraf said that what he had done on October 12, 1999 was only to save the country.

He said that price hike and unemployment is on the rise in Pakistan and there is a dire need of third political power to save the country.

Musharraf against US withdrawal

General Pervez Musharraf speaks at the Council on Foreign,
Relations on November 2, 2011 in New York City.
—AFP Photo

NEW YORK: Former president Pervez Musharraf warned on Sunday that the US withdrawal from Afghanistan would lead to Pakistan and India struggling over influence in the war-torn country.

An unstable Afghanistan reeling from US withdrawal, with bordering Pakistan and India fighting for influence, would lead to disarray in the region, Mr Musharraf said on CNN`s “Fareed Zakaria GPS” in an interview.
“I think it`s going to be very difficult, very difficult,” the retired army chief said. “I get a feeling that maybe we will revert to” the regional instability that preceded the 2001 US-led invasion.

He warned the US not to leave Afghanistan nor set a time-line for troop withdrawal and said Pakistan had been “bending backward” trying to help train Afghan troops and intelligence personnel, yet Afghan “diplomats, intelligence personnel, military men, security people go to India for training”, Mr Musharraf said.

He said he did not trust Afghan President Hamid Karzai “at all”.
Mr Karzai said last month that Afghanistan was a loyal neighbour to Pakistan and would assist if Pakistan were attacked by the US. Mr Musharraf said the notion is “totally preposterous” during the interview.

He said he was confident Pakistan`s nuclear weapons were safe even though the US raid on Osama bin Laden in Pakistan went undetected by his country and there had been media reports that its nuclear sites had been attacked by militants and weapons transported in low-security convoys.

Pakistan`s nuclear weapons are secure unless “Pakistan is taken over by some religious extremist political organisation,” and “I don`t see that happening in the near future,” Mr Musharraf said.

The weapons “are very well dispersed and they are in very strong positions, and also guarded”, he said. “I don`t think it`s as simple as an Osama bin Laden action or a one-point action which is a soft target. This is a very hard target.”

The former president has repeatedly said he didn`t know Osama bin Laden was hiding in Abbottabad, where US forces killed him in May, and did not think the country`s intelligence service protected the Al Qaeda leader.

Former President of Pakistan at WC / By Emily Sallade

Former President of Pakistan, Pervez Musharraf, spoke to a full audience about Pakistan, terrorism, and regional security on Oct. 24. He is one of many important delegates to speak at WC. Musharraf had power over Pakistan from 1999 to 2001 as Chief Executive and from 2001 to 2008 as the tenth President of Pakistan.
The talk President Musharraf gave was very insightful and interesting, and he had many things to say concerning Pakistan and how the country feels regarding the War on Terror and the United States, although there was a bit of an understandable bias in regards to Pakistan’s relationship with India.
At the talk President Musharraf also explained his plans to return to Pakistan and run again for the presidency in the elections of 2013. Musharraf was forced to leave Pakistan due to threats to his life and a warrant for his arrest. He explained that he would be returning because he believed he could win re-election.
“I was excited,” said freshman Valerie Bardhi, in regards to the talk. There were many students present at this event, most of them International Studies and Political Science majors. Decker Theater was packed full with attendance from students and community members alike, so much so that Musharraf’s talk was web streamed live on the WC website so that many others, both near and far, could be involved. Musharraf came to speak to the school due to his acquaintance with Professor Tahir Shad.

Musharraf to return to Pakistan on March 23 at any cost: APML

* Dr Mujtaba says Pakistan needs no foreign aid if looted money of country recovered
* Nawaz says issues, problems can’t be solved through processions and rallies
Staff Report

KARACHI: Former president Gen (r) Pervez Musharraf will return Pakistan on March 23, 2012 at any cost, said All Pakistan Muslim League (APML) central vice presidents Dr Ghulam Mujtaba and Haris Nawaz.

Addressing a joint press conference at a local hotel on Tuesday, the APML leaders said it was very clear stance of the party that no one should have ambiguity in return of Musharraf as there would be no delay in it.

Dr Mujtaba said: “The basic and real problem facing the country is its slowing economy, however, Musharraf is only political figure who could safeguard it. He said Pakistan would need no foreign aid if looted money of the country was recovered. He said: “Musharraf is the only person whom the world rely. The donor agencies, which are currently reluctant to give funds to the present rulers, will give funds to the country over their trust on him.”

He claimed there was no charge of corruption against Musharraf. The APML VC termed the Musharraf tenure as golden era in terms of economy. Dr Mujtaba said Pakistan was passing through a critical juncture as lawlessness had badly hit its society.

He said: “The wars of present era are fought on economic issues, while the economic situation of the country is deteriorating with each passing day.”

“Dr Mujtaba said when Musharraf left the country, the value of the dollar was Rs 58 but now it had hit Rs 88. The prices of essential commodities have also multiplied manifold,” he observed. He maintained that the publishing of more and more new notes was leading the country to the verge of danger.

He cited the example of Soviet Union as saying it was dismantled due to its economic crisis despite equipped with nukes and arms. “We want to boost foreign investment in the country and will provide security and safety to them”, he asserted. The blood being wasted in Afghanistan would not be let exhausted if APML comes to power while anything against interest of the country will be thwarted, he assured.

According to a report of Transparency International, he said, Pakistan has gone down like Somalia. Haris Nawaz said the issues and problems could not be solved through processions and rallies unless there was solution behind them. He said, “If we compare Mushrraf era with present government, we will find the period of Musharraf better in term of economic and law maintaining.

He said with today’s press conference, APML was launching campaign and in this regard the party would hold a big political rally on Nov 16 in Hyderabad, which would be addressed by Musharraf by phone. To a question about Musharraf’s arrest on his arrival, they said the party’s legal panel was there to tackle all such situations.

Pervez Musharraf Launches His Political Comeback

The former Pakistani president has announced his plans to return to politics.
In the spring of 2009, Gen. Pervez Musharraf found himself living in a friend’s spare bedroom in London. Nine months earlier he’d been president of Pakistan, charged with the world’s sixth-largest population and fourth-largest nuclear arsenal. Now he was forced to face more pedestrian concerns. “Should I move outside the city and maybe find something cheaper and bigger, or stay in central London?” Musharraf remembers thinking.

He found a three-bedroom flat off Hyde Park, in an upscale London neighborhood, and settled into unglamorous self-exile. The hard part, he says, is “not having anything to do.” He golfs and plays a weekly game of bridge, usually makes his way around without the trappings of a big security detail, and more or less lives out in the open. (“Even all the delivery guys know where he lives,” a doorman says.) Sitting on his couch one evening in September in a pair of leisure slacks, on the eve of a visit to America to meet politicians and boost his international profile, Musharraf says he doesn’t intend to live this way much longer. He’s been planning an unlikely comeback: after taking power in a military coup more than a decade ago, he wants to win it back through the ballot box. “I call it the call of destiny,” he says.

The 68-year-old’s plan—as he reiterated last week during a stopover in Washington en route to the Council on Foreign Relations in New York—is to return to Pakistan in the spring and contest the country’s 2013 elections. He launched his own political party, the All Pakistan Muslim League (APML), in Britain last year. He’s been campaigning to the Pakistani diaspora and drumming up a political operation headquartered in Islamabad. He’s also been speaking out against the country’s current government, pushing the idea that things were much better with him in charge.

Musharraf resigned the presidency under threat of impeachment, and with angry mobs—led by the country’s lawyers and the man he’d overthrown nine years earlier, Nawaz Sharif—massed below his office window. But he feels vindicated by the problems that have gripped Pakistan since: rising poverty, a sinking economy, growing extremism, a disintegrating relationship with the United States. “As they say, the taste of the pudding is in its eating. And now the people realize that their condition was so good,” he says.

Pakistan’s democratic leaders have failed the country, Musharraf says, and the only answer is help from outside the entrenched mainstream. “There’s a political vacuum.”

This was Musharraf’s justification for staging the 1999 coup that put him in power in the first place. Successive democratic governments had proved so corrupt and inept that even some liberal-minded Pakistanis looked past their constitutional qualms and welcomed the change. Musharraf promised to clean things up and get Pakistan back to a democracy as quickly as he could.

Instead, Musharraf staged an awkward nine-year balancing act between political leader and Army chief. He liberalized Pakistan’s economy, passed progressive reforms, and tried to crack down on corruption and Islamic extremism in the military. But he also changed the Constitution twice to stay in power, stood accused of vote rigging, and provoked a disastrous battle with the courts, sacking the chief justice and setting off the protests that helped push him from power.

Musharraf had a tricky relationship with Pakistan’s political parties from the start, especially the powerful Pakistan Muslim League, whose leader, Sharif, he’d deposed—leading to Sharif’s exile. Even as president and Army chief, he needed to find political support. As Matthew Nelson, a professor at the University of London’s School of Oriental and African Studies, points out, military rulers in Pakistan need some semblance of popular consent. “The military, despite being very powerful in Pakistan, simply does not have enough power to have a lock on the political process,” he says.

The result was the founding, in 2002, of Musharraf’s own party, also named the Pakistan Muslim League (it goes by PML-Q to Sharif’s PML-N). Derided as the “king’s party,” the PML-Q was an uneasy collection of former Sharif supporters and members of Benazir Bhutto’s liberal Pakistan People’s Party. After a referendum to validate Musharraf’s presidency (he was the only candidate on the ballot) and a less-discredited general election later that year, it was apparent that he would need to rely on the same political players he’d said he was out to challenge.

Through the power struggles that ensued, Musharraf seems to have developed an appreciation for popular power. Now he hopes to get some for himself. “I would like to take the people of Pakistan toward me, so that the political leaders, the conventional leaders of Pakistan, are dependent on me because I have the support of the people, rather than me having to depend on them because they have it,” he says. “Leadership is when you don’t have rank and yet people follow you.”

Odho wants Khan and Musharraf to join hands

Jacobabad: Famous actress Atiqa Odho has said that Imran Khan and former president general Pervez Musharraf should join hands to steer the country out of the multiple crises it has been facing.
She supported the campaign of Khan against the Sharif brothers and said that Nawaz League’s politics was a farce. She was talking to reporters after visiting different schools.
She claimed that drone attacks in Pakistan started after Musharraf’s rule.


Pervez Musharraf foundation
Atif Zia Qureshi
Nawabshah—The aim and objectives of Pervez Musharraf Foundation is to provide help to poor and deserving persons and for that reason under the instructions of former President and Gen (R) Pevez Musharraf relief material was distributed in Sakrand area of District Shaheed Benazir Abad.
These views were expressed by Sindh Finance Secretary Col (R) Shahid Qureshi while talking to media. He said that former President always served people and talked about Pakistan First. He said that Foundation has steped forward to extend help to people of Pakistan rain affected brothers of Sindh. He said that relief material is being distributed without any discrimination.
Sindh Finance Secretary of Foundation said that Sindh faced huge disaster as a result of heavy rains, millions of people were displaced and large numbers of houses were damaged. He said that Former President Gen (R) Pervez Musharraf daily collects information about rain affected areas and people.
Former Sindh Advisor Ghulam Rasool Unar said hat District Shaheed Benazir Abad was badly affected by rains and most of the low lying areas completely came under water. He said that rain affected people are waiting for a single bite of bread. He expressed thanks for the relief goods sent by Pervez Musharraf Foundation.

Don’t grudge Pak protecting own goals: Musharraf

Washington—Former President of Pakistan General (Retd) Pervez Musharraf has said that relations between Pakistan and United Stated (US) are terrible but the accusation of the latter on Inter Services Intelligence (ISI) of assisting extremists were fake and out of context.
Speaking at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace here in Washington, Pervez Musharraf said that since our independence, Afghanistan always has been anti-Pakistan because the Soviet Union and India have very good relations with Afghanistan.
“We must not allow this to continue,” he said. “We must not grudge if Pakistan orders ISI to take counter-measures to protect its own interests.”

Don’t grudge Pak protecting own goals: Musharraf
Musharraf said Afghanistan could plunge into conflict along ethnic lines after 2014, when the United States plans to withdraw its combat troops from Afghanistan, ending more than a decade of war.
“Are you leaving a stable Afghanistan or an unstable Afghanistan? Because based on that, I in Pakistan will have to take my own counter-measures”, Musharraf said.
The former President said that adverse impact will be on Pakistan, so any leader in Pakistan must think of securing Pakistan’s interests.
Musharraf criticized Mullen’s comments but said that Pakistan needed to do a better job explaining its position.
“They must prove to the world and to the United States: Is there a problem? Do they have a different strategy as far as Sirajuddin Haqqani is concerned? Is there a problem that the army is overstretched?” he asked.—

Can Pervez Musharraf help soothe US-Pakistan relations?

By Ian Pannell
BBC News, Washington

Pakistan's former president, Gen Pervez Musharraf, says he believes relations between the US and Pakistan are now at their "lowest ebb"
What do you call a man who has been a general, a president and is now the kind of "ordinary" citizen who has an outstanding warrant for his arrest, aspires to lead his country once more and has three barrel-chested heavies keeping an eye on him?
The smart answer might simply be 'whatever he wants'.
For a man with such a high-profile and controversial past, Pervez Musharraf can be thoroughly disarming, even as his entourage deferentially address him as "Mr President".
The man who ruled Pakistan for nine turbulent years from 2001 is many things to many people (take your pick from "dictator" to "saviour").
Boring is certainly not one of them.
Mr Musharraf is on a charm offensive, and a potentially lucrative one at that.
Shuttling between the States and his homes in London and Dubai, he has appeared on chat shows, given speeches and taken questions from students, academics, politicians and journalists.
His stated mission is to try and ease the furrowed brow of US-Pakistan relations, which he told me are "at the lowest ebb".
He says there has been a total breakdown of trust and confidence between the two countries.
What he finds "most surprising" is the distrust that now exists between the CIA and ISI, the two country's respective intelligence agencies.
"There is a lot of dismay and a lot of concern all over in Pakistan and all over the Pakistani diaspora here," he says.
'Rogue elements'
In reality, it is a relationship that has been in slow decline since 2001 when Mr Musharraf was faced with former US President George W Bush's bleak choice that Pakistan was either "with us or against us in the fight against terror".
This was not to be a simple case of cheerleading from the sidelines.
Mr Bush made it clear that "a coalition partner must do more than just express sympathy, a coalition partner must perform".
For some, Pakistan has excelled as much as it has sacrificed; losing thousands of lives in a battle against militancy, providing indispensable help with the capture and killing of key al-Qaeda operatives.
That is not the view in Washington, where suspicion that people in the government and armed forces may have been "double-dealing" has grown into shrill accusations.
Mr Musharraf clearly regards himself as the peacemaker.
He concedes that there may have been "incidents" at a tactical level and some "rogue elements" but warns that this should not be mistaken for wholesale or strategic collusion.
"It is not a policy that Pakistan is following or that ISI is following to assist the Taliban or pump them into Afghanistan."
'Getting emotional'
The former leader of Pakistan plays the dispassionate broker very well.
But it would be a mistake to ignore questions about his role throughout much of the period..
The substance of the claim he handles like a politician (it was actually a case of mistaken identity involving the CIA, he says).
But he bristles with anger at the mention of Amrullah Saleh's name, clearly angered by what he feels is impertinence on the part of a "lowly" Afghan intelligence chief.
This is when you get a glimpse of the man who seized power in a coup in 1999.
Mr Musharraf later apologises for "getting emotional" but as he prepares to launch a political campaign in Pakistan it shows how much work remains to prove his democratic credentials.
It is difficult to know what kind of support he really commands at home.
He is quick to boast that he has more Facebook friends than others (nearly half a million at the last count) but the question is: how many are voting Pakistanis, as opposed to the wealthy ex-pats who are funding his current tour of the US?
Anecdotally, there is little evidence he has the support needed to mount a serious campaign for office.
And there is the not inconsiderable issue of an outstanding warrant for his arrest.
Charming yes, capable undoubtedly. But with a history as cloudy as it is controversial, Mr Musharraf is probably destined to remain a figure of Pakistan's past rather than its future.

RAW, ISI should make up: Musharraf

WASHINGTON POST, (Press Trust of India)27 OCT: RAW and ISI, the intelligence agencies of India and Pakistan, should end their confrontational course and initiate a process of rapprochement to stop “harming” each other, former Pakistani dictator Pervez Musharraf has said.
“Afghanistan always has been anti-Pakistan because Soviet Union and India have very close relation in Afghanistan. And the intelligence agency, KGB, RAW and KHAD of Afghanistan have always been in cooperation and talking since 1950s. So we must not allow this to continue because then one must not grudge if Pakistan orders ISI to take countermeasures to protect its own interest,” Musharraf said in response to a question at the Carnegie Endowment for Peace; a Washington-based eminent think-tank.
“So I think this needs a rapprochement certainly between India and Pakistan and rapprochement also between the two Intelligence organisations: the RAW of India and the ISI of Pakistan. Because they have been on a confrontational course all through since the 1950s, harming each other,” he said.
“So this is, I would say and if I'm also allowed to one rather minor but still becoming very significant when leadership from the United States or anywhere say Pakistan has not done enough; we need to do more now, this has become almost so annoying to a common man in the Pakistan,” he said.

Elections 2013: Don’t take General Musharraf lightly

Given the volatile political situation of the country, it is hard to predict who will be supporting whom and which party will be contesting for premiership in the next general elections. But one thing seems to be certain, General (retd) Pervez Musharraf is going to eventually land at Karachi’s Jinnah International Airport and hundreds, if not thousands, of activists of Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) will be welcoming the commando back home along with workers of All Pakistan Muslim League (APML).
Why am I so sure?
I am no fortune-teller but I can guess the future scenario with the help of some ongoing statements and political manoeuvring.
Very recently, MQM senior leader, Farooq Sattar said the party would have no problem supporting Musharraf in the next general elections. Sattar even went on to say the MQM would not field a candidate against Musharraf if he contested in the election from Karachi. No doubt, Musharraf strengthened the MQM’s power through the local government system and doled out billions of rupees to then city Nazim Mustafa Kamal for development work. Musharraf also enjoys close relations with MQM chief Altaf Hussain and can easily win his support for the APML in the next general elections.
The retired General is a mohajir and a resident of Karachi. It is thus understandable that he can contest for a national assembly seat from this constituency. Everyone knows the MQM is popular in certain constituencies of Karachi and the commando can return uncontested or even trounce his opponent from any other political party with a heavy margin.
So is it actually this simple to become a Member of the National Assembly?
Yes, if you have got connections at the right place and can use them at the right time. Indeed, who knows this better than Musharraf, the all-powerful former president and Chief of Army Staff?
In any case, why would Musharraf not be a MNA? He is a citizen of Pakistan and enjoys all the constitutional rights like anybody else living in this country.
People from Punjab and Balochistan despise him, but most Karachiites have got no problem with him. Billions of rupees were spent on development projects which were launched in Karachi during his stint and the business community of the city also benefited from his liberal and progressive economic policies. The business community would even be willing to fund his political campaign, especially if they get a hint from ‘particular’ quarters.
People have said that General Musharraf has faced serious life threats from fanatics for the military operation against Lal Masjid and the killing of Nawab Akbar Bugti, therefore he won’t return. Yes, there are threats to his life and he also faces court trials in these cases including for the death of Benazir Bhutto. However, being the former Chief of Army Staff and having connections in the corridors of power, I think, he can manage all these issues. If he can promulgate National Reconciliation Ordinance (NRO) for a safe return of Benazir Bhutto in the country, President Zardari can also return the favour.
For those who are still disbelievers — ladies and gentlemen, this is Pakistan we are talking about – nothing is impossible here.
The leadership of the PML-N is also just limited to rhetoric against Musharraf. If Nawaz Sharif is so serious in prosecution of the former president under Article 6 of the constitution, why does  he not move to the apex court for the same? Why has he failed to file a reference against Musharraf despite repeated demands of the Pakistan Peoples Party leadership? Public statements are one thing but doing something practical is quite difficult.
Moreover, the common man has fond memories of Musharraf’s era owing to the failure of the present so-called democratic dispensation. The much-trumpeted ‘Khadim-e-Ala’ has also failed to bring any positive change in the life of ordinary people. Much like the leadership of the PPP, he too only makes public statements and people don’t take him seriously any more.
But what can Musharraf do even if he is elected as a MNA?
The All Pakistan Muslim League (Musharraf’s party) could form an alliance with small political parties like PTI, MQM, PML-F, BNP and others. Collectively, they would be able to give a tough time to the government if they opt for sitting on the opposition benches. Some parliamentarians from the PML-Q could also join Musharraf’s party upon his return to the country, so it would be foolish to take the commando lightly.
While it would be a stretch to say that Musharraf will be the next prime minister, I will go as far as to speculate that he will be an MNA at the very least. I definitely see the starts aligning in favour of the retired General.


Aamir Saeed
A freelance journalist based in Islamabad who is doing M.Phil in peace and conflict studies from National Defence University.

Pervez Musharraf concedes he has 'Indian blood', hence for peace with India

WASHINGTON: (TNN)A red-faced Pervez Musharraf, Pakistan's former military ruler, has conceded that he has "Indian blood" in him, a fact that made him a votary of peace with India.

The embarrassing moment for Musharraf, who has a hard-nosed approach to India, came during a talk at the Carnegie Endowment on Wednesday when an audience member reminded him that he was born in India and has Indian blood in him after he (Musharraf) claimed he was "reasonably popular" in India despite his bluntness towards New Delhi, where he was born.

"Well, yes. I admit, yes indeed," a discomfited Musharraf said amid laughter in the audience about the question of Indian blood. "That is why I say that India and Pakistan must have peace. I'm a strong - very strong believer: We must have peace."

But that didn't stop the architect of the Kargil war and terrorist incursions into India from launching a familiar tirade against New Delhi for its footprint in Afghanistan, which he and his fellow military minds see as a threat to Pakistan's interests that centers around a power grab for the Taliban and other medieval forces.

"Now, India is trying to create anti-Pakistan Afghanistan. This is most unfortunate, and I am not saying this because I am Indo-centric or I'm anti-India. I know this through intelligence; I know this to be a fact," he ranted. His "proof"? Afghanistan's diplomats, its intelligence and security people, army men all go to India for training. There they get indoctrinated against Pakistan.

Musharraf complained that in his time, he was "bending backwards" inviting them to Pakistan for free of cost training, but "not one till day - to date has come to Pakistan."

Musharraf whose record of dissembling and bluster has had US editorials calling him "mendacious," did not reflect on general hatred for Pakistan in Afghanistan for its depredations there and Kabul's historical ties with India. Still, he told the mostly American audience "we must not allow this (Indian influence in Afghanistan) to continue because then one must not grudge if Pakistan orders ISI to take countermeasures to protect its own interest."

While that implicit threat skirted around Pakistan's widely-recognised use of terrorism as an instrument state policy, a BBC documentary titled "Secret Pakistan" broadcast on Wednesday once again exposed Pakistan's nexus with terrorism, including ISI's training of Taliban elements. Several Taliban commanders interviewed for the documentary attested to being trained by ISI handlers.

But while rationalizing Pakistan's policies now regarded as folly in Washington, Musharraf represented himself as a peacenik, going so far as to suggest a rapproachment between the ISI and the Indian intelligence agency RAW.

While admitting that ties between the US and Pakistan were at an all-time low, Musharraf rubbished the prospect of war between the two as visualized by Afghan President Hamid Karzai, who said in that case Kabul would support Islamabad.

"It's ridiculous and preposterous...I mean, this can never happen. So why comment?" Musharraf snorted, advising Karzai to "Please look after the Taliban and al-Qaida; that is enough. Don't support Pakistan. Pakistan will look after itself."

Musharraf the Candidate

Pervez Musharraf, the former Army general turned (former) President of Pakistan, is a different man than the Musharraf who has now declared that he will again contest for his nation's presidency.  The earlier version of Musharraf would bristle at questions about his respect for democracy, about the relationship of the Taliban to the security organs of the government, and, well, just about anything.  Musharraf, before, was self-confident, a talker more than a listener, and personally intimidating.

The man who spoke to the students of Washington College on the eastern shore of Maryland yesterday evening struck a significant contrast to the man that so many believed had become a de facto dictator during his tenure as Pakistan's president.  Musharraf listened.  He met students and engaged them seriously.  He spoke to them like mature adults who were informed -- and didn't dumb down his commentary.


The former four-star general said that while he grew up "as a man of war", he now knew how to "construct the peace" in his neighborhood, even with India -- though he had a number of testy comments about India and what he considered to be its meddling in Afghanistan and its efforts to create an "anti-Pakistan Afghanistan."

Musharaff  with  Steve Clemons  Editor 

at The Atlantic,

Musharraf offered a sweeping historical narrative of why Afghanistan had become the hotbed of regional proxy conflicts and had since American disengagement after the "defeat of the Soviet Union in 1989" become a "total disaster."  His perspective on Pakistan's allies and strategic choices is forged in realpolitik -- in which Pakistan's interests actually ally well with many interests of the United States.  He said it was extremely frustrating and disheartening for Pakistan to watch the US tilt toward India after the demise of the Soviet Union -- even though Pakistan had helped the US and its proxies defeat the Soviets inside Afghanistan, thus in many ways triggering the end of the Cold War.

He suggested that weak political leadership inside Pakistan and the failure to align institutions, their objectives, and conduct could be resulting in rogue military and intelligence elements freelancing in ways that were detrimental to both Pakistan's and America's security.  He believes that bin Laden living in Pakistan represented a real intelligence failure for Pakistan -- and severe negligence, not complicity, is the explanation.  Interestingly, President Musharraf said that bin Laden is now dead -- and off the minds of people; what is not off their minds though is the violation of Pakistan's sovereignty.

Most of the questions I posed while chairing this meeting with President Musharraf were drawn from Washington College students -- and I'll be posting the video when it appears on the college website -- but I did ask Musharraf about his views on Pakistan's blasphemy law and the assassination of Punjab Governor Salman Taseer, on religious militancy, and whether if he was President of the United States, whether he would fire drone missiles at al Qaeda leaders.

Musharraf said that more than forty nations had blasphemy laws and that Pakistan was among many.  Religious extremism and militancy, he said, is often a manifestation of other social turmoil -- and that it would take time to urbanize, to educate, and liberalize a populations undergoing huge demographic shifts.  On the drone issue, Musharraf said that as a military man with a military objective -- if serving as the US President -- he might in fact decide to use drones.  He would, however, operate cautiously and carefully because of the obvious violations of sovereignty, which is deeply toxic to a nation's identity.

Musharraf's most compelling commentary focused on the importance of economic and political modernization -- the importance of exposing people to what was going on in the world and building the economy.  He kept referring to the strong economic growth rates that Pakistan had achieved during his term -- and that Pakistan was considered to be in "the next set" of eleven fast growing nations after the larger lead developing countries today.  He lamented the loss of pride and self-confidence of the Pakistan people in the current period and said that the political leadership was insolvent, corrupt, nepotistic, and failing.

There's much more that I'd like to share about Musharraf, who intends to make his first campaign trip back to Pakistan in March 2012 and until then is operating through Skype, Facebook, and other new social network media to build out his campaign and new political party.  He had just the day before spoken to a crowd of more than 3,000 Pakistanis via Skype -- and was proud that he now had more than 400,000 "fans" on Facebook.

I did push Musharraf privately on the democracy question, which he said a young Pakistani lady had posed to him that very day on a BBC event and program.  He was pushed on a number of fronts -- including the question of whether Pakistan could really be considered an ally of the United States anymore.  I'll write more about this democracy question when I post the Musharraf video.

The former President didn't get irritated, or ruffled, or dismissive -- he got more deeply engaged and answered questions succinctly, posed questions to some of his student handlers, and spent the evening charming and chatting with several tables of college VIPs after his speech.  He was compelling and deeply informed on the details of global security and economic issues as well as many dimensions of state and global governance.

Last night with Musharraf reminded me of a time I secured Bill Clinton as a dinner speaker for a major Nixon Center event -- and the President (then) came to the cocktail party, sat down for dinner, gave a long and thorough speech, and hung out a bit after.  While I remember the content of that April 1995 speech, few others do; but almost everyone remembers how much time that night a sitting President of the United States spent at one dinner party.

In a more modest way perhaps, former President Musharraf did the same as Clinton for the Washington College community.  He gave those in the community and the students and professors a lot of time -- not because he actually had a lot of time -- but because he is out testing the new Musharraf, the listening Musharraf, the Musharraf concerned and interested in the tough and complex questions a public can pose.

And I have to say that much to my surprise, I was impressed with this version of the controversial former president of Pakistan.

Pak has reasons not to act against Haqqanis'

Islamabad: Former Pakistan president Pervez Musharraf has said his country’s government has “definite reasons” for not acting against the Haqqani network, as such action might hinder its current interests.

Although he did not rule out future action against the Haqqani network, Musharraf insisted that he was not aware of any such information in this regard.

Talking about militants being killed in drone strikes, the Express Tribune quoted him, as saying that it should not be done at the cost of improving bilateral relations.

Last month, US’ former top military officer Admiral Mike Mullen had accused Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence agency (ISI) of exporting violence through the Haqqani network.

Admiral Mullen had said then that ISI was actively supporting terror networks linked to al Qaeda, and blamed it for an earlier assault on the US embassy in Kabul.

"In choosing to use violent extremism as an instrument of policy, the government of Pakistan - and most especially the Pakistani Army and ISI - jeopardises not only the prospect of our strategic partnership, but also Pakistan's opportunity to be a respected nation with legitimate regional influence. By exporting violence, they have eroded their internal security and their position in the region," he had claimed.

His comments angered the Pakistan establishment so much that they even threatened to break ties with Washington, insisting that no baseless allegation or attack on their sovereignty would be tolerated.

Pakistan Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar even went to the extent of saying that the Haqqani group was in fact the Central Investigative Agency's (CIA) "blue-eyed boy" for many years.

"If we talk about links, I am sure the CIA (Central Intelligence Agency) also has links with many terrorist organisations around the world, by which we mean intelligence links. And this particular network, which the United States continues to talk about, is a network which was the blue-eyed boy of the CIA itself for many years," she added.

Musharraf to VOA: Karzai Statement "Preposterous"

Washington,D.C-Former Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf has told a popular Voice of America TV program he just can't understand what was behind a controversial statement made by Afghan President Hamid Karzai on Saturday.

Former Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf has told a popular Voice of America TV program he just can’t understand what was behind a controversial statement made by Afghan President Hamid Karzai on Saturday.
Mr. Musharraf, who appeared on Monday’s edition of The Platform, a co-production of VOA and the Pakistani cable network, Express 24/7, was questioned about President Karzai’s recent statement that “Afghanistan will side with Pakistan," if ever there is a war between Pakistan and the United States.
Mr. Musharraf described the statement as “preposterous,” saying, “I just don’t understand...I think this must be crazy, I don’t agree with this statement at all.”

Mr. Musharraf, who appeared on the program with former U.S. Senator Bob Graham, took a series of questions from a live studio audience in the Pakistani city of Lahore.
Asked what it would take to bring peace to Afghanistan, Mr. Musharraf called for a more inclusive government in Kabul, one that includes more ethnic Pashtuns in key leadership positions.  “I’m afraid we have to have a balanced Pashtun-dominated government in Afghanistan, whatever it takes, because Pashtuns have always ruled Afghanistan, we cannot ignore their presence.”

Senator Graham and President Musharraf also discussed the U.S. Pakistan relationship, and both said the two countries had many common interests.  Mr. Graham said the two would have to work at improving “day-to-day” relations.Mr. Musharraf said ties between Washington and Islamabad were perhaps at their “lowest ebb,” and both he and Senator Graham said the U.S. use of drones to strike at terrorist targets had added to the strains.

Action against Haqqani network may not be in Pakistan's interest: Musharraf

LONDON: Former president Pervez Musharraf said that Pakistan has “definite reasons” for not acting against the Haqqani Network, as such action may not be in Pakistan’s current interest.
The former President did not rule out future action against the Haqqanis, but said that he was not privy to any information in this regard.
Musharraf was speaking at a question and answer session organised at the University of London by the School of Oriental and African Studies and hosted by Express News host of Frontline, Kamran Shahid.
Musharraf faced an intense question and answer session in London, being grilled by an audience comprising both south asian and international students.

Answering a question on drone strikes and the attached collateral damage, the former President of Pakistan said it was a “catch 22″ situation, saying on the one hand, Pakistan wants to defeat al-Qaeda and Taliban since that they are terrorists trying to destabilize the region but at the same time they had to avoid talibanisation of Pakistan. He added that militants are being killed in drone strikes, but at the cost of collateral damage, which is why he never drone strikes during his term. He admitted that handling this situation was a problem area.

Answering a question from an Afghan student on Pakistan’s dual policy of initially backing the Taliban when they took over in Afghanistan and now talking about avoiding talibanisation of Pakistan, Musharraf said that he had no part to play in recognizing the Afghan Taliban government in 1996 but supported the government’s decision. He added that at the time, the Afghan Taliban were fighting against an Indian and Russian backed Northern Alliance. He said that the world had abandoned Afghanistan between 1989 and 2001, and that Pakistan alone was not to blame for what happened in Afghanistan during that time.

Answering a question on not taking former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif into confidence on Kargil, the retired general said he had briefed Sharif on the issue. He cited pictures of Sharif at the briefing which “had been circulating over the internet for some time”.
“Was Nawaz Sharif at the briefing for sightseeing?” queried Musharraf.

Student support: Sehba Musharraf asks youth to pull for her husband

MULTAN: (By Owais Jaffery)Former president Pervez Musharraf’s wife Sehba Musharraf was in the district on Friday and Saturday and distributed keys to 300 houses for flood victims.
Sehba told reporters that the Pervez Musharraf foundation had constructed hundreds of homes for flood victims in Dera Ghazi Khan, Kot Addu, Muzaffargarh and Rajanpur.
Sehba also addressed a large gathering of students from different colleges and universities in the district.
“Young people need to support Musharraf so that we can rid Pakistan of the corrupt forces that are destroying it at present,” she said.
“The current government is leeching off the public and their money.
They are not even apologetic about robbing the people. This is why the people need to come together to support change.
We need to build this country together from the ground up,” she said. She said that the Musharraf Foundation was dedicated to working on behalf of the youth and the needy in the country. “
We have constructed over 500 homes for flood victims and we are working to ensure medical facilities in flood zones. Our foundation is committed to helping these people,” she said.
Pervez Musharraf Foundation coordinator Asad Chaudhery said that the Pakistani youth needed to stand behind Musharraf in the coming elections. “He is the only hope for us to get out of this mess. All progressive Pakistanis should support Musharraf,” he said.
Published in The Express Tribune, October 24th, 2011.

Musharraf grieved over demise of Saudi Crown Prince

LAHORE(PR)Chief of All Pakistan Muslim League and former President of Pakistan Pervez Musharraf and the central leadership of APML have expressed their grief and heartfelt condolence at the sad demise of Saudi Crown Prince and Defence Minister Sultan Bin Abdul Aziz Al-Saud.In his message the former President joined in sharing the grief of the Saudi Royal family and the people of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and said that this sad and tragic news is his personal loss as he has lost a dear friend.
Pervez Musharraf prayed for eternal peace for the departed soul and said that may Allah give fortitude to the Royal family to bear this irreparable loss.

MQM not fielding a candidate against musharraf in Karachi for the 2013 elections.

KARACHI: Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) leader Farooq Sattar hinted that the MQM would have “no problem” supporting former president Pervez Musharraf by not fielding a candidate against him in Karachi for the 2013 elections.

MQM offers musharraf to contest

election from karachi 

Speaking during an exclusive interview to Express 24/7, Sattar indicated that the MQM’s support for the self-exiled former president stemmed from Musharraf’s close relations with MQM chief Altaf Hussain and the party. He added that Musharraf’s “nurturing” of democracy and support for the local government system was a clinical factor behind MQM’s support for the former president.
Despite indicating possible political support, Sattar emphasised that Musharraf should think “100 times and more” before taking a decision to return to Pakistan — given the significant threat to his life.PPP-MQM love affair Responding to a question on whether the repeated formation and breakup of a coalition with the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) was hurting the MQM’s credibility, Sattar said that the decision to join the coalition was taken in order “to give stability, economy and democracy a chance in Pakistan”.

Sattar said that the MQM-PPP coalition would survive through conducting regular talks between the two parties. He reiterated that the MQM had joined the government with “good intentions” and wanted to be “optimistic” about the relationship.
Karachi’s ‘criminal nexus’

pepoles want to change with musharraf

Sattar warned that a “civil war-like” situation was being plotted in Karachi to benefit a criminal nexus including an “underworld syndicate” that had links with extremist elements such as the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan who have entered Karachi from Swat, Malakand and South Waziristan. Sattar claimed that transactions worth billions of rupees were being made to sponsor terrorism in the country’s northern areas. He added that land and weapon mafias, along with religious parties, were also involved in violence — all of whom were benefitting from chaos in the city.
Sattar asserted that there were some “criminal elements” across “certain political parties” that were triggering chaos in certain MQM constituencies by handing them over to criminals.

Without specifying names, he said that certain elements in the Awami National Party (ANP) were creating a sense of insecurity amongst the Pashtun in Karachi. He also blamed the People’s Amn Committee (PAC) for creating similar tensions.

Regarding the Supreme Court’s verdict, the MQM leader said that the apex court had identified the root causes of this chronic ailment in Karachi, and had issued directives to the government. “The verdict only mentioned parties named in petitions filed by other political parties,” Sattar said.
Sattar said that former home minister Zulfiqar Mirza’s statements “aggravated the situation in Karachi” and served only to stir up political tension.
Speaking on whether the powers given to Rangers in the metropolis were justifiable, Sattar said that the Rangers’ operations had been “effective” and along with powers of making arrests and conducting investigations, they should also be given the power of prosecution. He also mentioned the MQM’s arrangement with the president that would include expanding the Governor’s rule in controlling the province.
The MQM-H threat

Regarding the Mohajir Qaumi Movement-Haqiqi (MQM-H), Sattar said that 80 per cent of Haqiqi members, including senior leader Amir Khan had reverted back to the MQM, leaving only 20 per cent, which mostly comprised “criminal elements”. He added that the MQM was closely observing how Afaq Ahmed’s release was being managed and how serious allegations against him were being brushed under the carpet. Sattar conceded that his party was exerting pressure on the government and facilitating Afaq Ahmed’s prosecution.

Call to join APML:Iftikhar Ahmed Awan advocate

LAHORE – All Pakistan Muslim League (APML) leader, Iftikhar Ahmed Awan advocate while calling Pervez Musharraf’s rule manifold better than today invited the legal fraternity to join APML.
Chairing a meeting of All Pakistan Muslim League ’s lawyers’ wing on Friday, he asked them to urge the community as well as the people from other walks of life to pave the way for an enthusiastic welcome of Musharraf on his return on March 23, 2012.

US to suffer heavily if goes into NWA:Musharraf

NEW YORK - Former president Pervez Musharraf said Thursday that the fact that Osama bin Laden turned up in Pakistan after a decade-long manhunt reflected the country’s negligence and not its complicity with the Al-Qaeda leader.
Appearing in Little Rock, Arkansas, as part of the Clinton School of Public Service lecture series, he said he understands the world views Pakistan as complicit in helping bin Laden hide out in Abbottabad where he was ultimately tracked and killed in a US raid. “It’s a case of terrible negligence, but negligence which is difficult to prove,” he said. “I don’t think they are doing a good job of proving this.”

Musharraf, speaking before about 500 people at the Robinson Centre in downtown Little Rock, said the Osama bin Laden issue “maybe would have been resolved” if relations hadn’t been broken off with the Taliban, according to media reports.
He said ex-US president Bill Clinton suggested to him in 2000 that Pakistan break off relations with the Taliban, but he believed it would be more effective to put worldwide diplomatic pressure on the group from within.“Unfortunately we didn’t do that,” he said. “I personally call that one of the big blunders of the past.”

Later, in an interview with The Associated Press, the American news agency, Musharraf said if US military forces went into Pakistan’s tribal areas to attack militants, they ‘will be totally bogged down.’ “Perhaps a hit-and-run action with helicopters like they did with Osama bin Laden, but then how many such actions can they do?” Musharraf said.
“And they’ll suffer a lot of casualties.” Musharraf also said the Pakistani military and intelligence services needed to ‘clarify’ to the US their strategy for defeating the Haqqani network.
But Musharraf blamed American mistakes in Afghanistan for the Taliban’s re-emergence, calling Pakistan a “victim and not a perpetrator of terrorism.” And he criticised comments last month from now-retired Admiral Mike Mullen, the former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, who said Pakistan’s intelligence agency supported and encouraged attacks by Haqqani militants.
Musharraf said Mullen’s comments were ‘very, very unfair.’
“Don’t pass such judgments,” he said. “Don’t give such accusations. Ask, demand clarifications. But be sure that the overall direction is clear. Pakistan is against terrorism.”
Musharraf, who has lived in Dubai and London since leaving office, said during Thursday night’s speech that he is planning an election bid to reclaim the presidency in 2013.
Musharraf criticised the country’s current leadership. Asked Thursday by a person in the audience why he was going back, Musharraf said: “I’m going to win. That’s why I’m going back.”
He said Pakistan faced internal turmoil over terrorism, a poor economy and the aftermath of devastating floods last year. Without a major change, Pakistan was headed toward becoming a “failed state,” he said.
In discussing Libyan leader Gaddafi’s death later, Musharraf - who came to power after deposing another political rival, former prime minister Nawaz Sharif - said there were good dictators and bad dictators.
“Dictatorship should facilitate democracy, should ensure that the country transforms into a workable, sustainable democracy,” Musharraf said. “That is the job of a good dictator.”
Gaddafi did not pass that test, he said. After decades of his rule, Libya is “as illiterate, as backward, as underdeveloped and not prepared for democracy,” Musharraf said.

Pak, US mutually to blame for tattered bilateral ties: Musharraf

Little Rock (Arkansas)Former military ruler Pervez Musharraf has said that both Pakistan and the United States are mutually to blame for bilateral ties that remain plagued by “total mistrust” and have hit a new low.
Musharraf told an audience in Arkansas that the Pakistan military was guilty of “terrible negligence” in allowing al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden to go undetected in the country before he was killed in a unilateral US raid on May 2, a foreign news agency reported.The former president also said that Pakistan had not done enough to target the Haqqani network, which is a Taliban-affiliated group of militants that allegedly operates from North Waziristan.

On the same day that US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton warned military leaders in Islamabad about militants, Musharraf said that neither Pakistan nor the US could defeat terrorists on their own.
If US military forces launched an offensive against militants in Pakistan’s tribal areas, they “will be totally bogged down,” Musharraf said later in an interview with the foreign news agency.
He also blamed US mistakes in Afghanistan for the Taliban’s re-emergence in the region, and said that Pakistan was a “victim and not a perpetrator of terrorism.”During the interview, he also said that former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Mike Mullen’s recent claims that the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) supported attacks on US and NATO facilities in Afghanistan by the Haqqani network, were “very, very unfair.”Musharraf said that such accusations should not be made and such judgments should not be passed against Pakistan.The US should rather demand clarifications from Pakistan, but must be sure that the overall direction is clear, he added.

APML to give Hazara provincial status

ISLAMABAD: All Pakistan Muslim League (APML) Secretary General Barrister Muhammad Ali Saif has said that the people of Hazara have a fundamental right to demand provincial status for ‘Hazara’.

Sec G: APML
Barrister M Ali Saif 

He said that APML would accomplish the dream of Hazara people and give provincial status to Hazara as well as to South Punjab. Talking to people hailing from different political and social circles of Hazara Division, Saif said that former President of Pakistan and APML Chief Pervez Musharraf voiced for formation of new provinces in the country for better administration and the day was not far off when Pervez Musharraf would fulfill his promises with the people of Hazara by giving provincial status to Hazara.

Saif underlined that PPP-led ruling government had failed on all fronts and to fulfill its promises made with the people of Pakistan and mounting challenges of the country during three years’ tenure of PPP has exposed the hollow slogans of PPP.

He noted that PPP was not sincere to address the genuine issues and concerns of the masses and the politics of PPP and its coalition partners revolves only around power corridors. APML Secretary General further said that people of Hazara Division were struggling to gain provincial status for Hazara but the government was not even interested to hear the concerns of these people.

Saif reiterated that APML Chief would fulfill the dreams of people of Hazra as well as of South Punjab and would lead the country on way to progress and prosperity.

Musharraf-Imran election alliance being brokered by common friends

Important political developments could be witnessed before the general elections as political parties are adjusting their positions in line with the prevailing scenario. The All Pakistan Muslim League chief Gen (Retd) Pervez Musharraf and Tehrik-e-Insaf leader Imaran Khan are being persuaded by common friends to enter into an alliance to win maximum number of seats and emerge as one of the major political force in the country.
These hints emerged as Tehrik-e-Insaaf Chief is now on a visit to the United States. Well placed sources said that Musharraf-Imran were busy in forging a covert political alliance through their friends in the US.
One person in the forefront to make this happen is the mayor of Paris (Texas, USA)) Dr Arjumand Hashmi, one of Musharraf's cronies, who is trying to broker a deal with all he is worth. The likely alliance is election specific.
Sources brought to fore that Imran Khan, flanked by his close aide Dr Zai, on the sidelines of a recent political visit to US met with Dr Arjumand who had invited him to dinner at his residence. It has also come to light that he (Imran) stayed there overnight.Dr Arjumand when approached by media persons confirmed the meeting and stay of Imran Khan at his house. He however denied any telephonic conversation between the two leaders during the whole time Tehrik-e-Insaf leader was his guest.

Musharraf to arrive in Pakistan on March 23 next year: APML Secretary General

Peshawar,Former military ruler and All Pakistan Muslim League chief Pervez Musharraf will arrive in Pakistan on March 23, 2012, and will face all cases registered against him in the court, APML Secretary General Barrister Muhammad Ali Saif has said.

Talking to media persons in Peshawar, Barrister Saif said that the cases registered against Musharraf were fabricated due to political vengeance.He maintained that Musharraf could not be held responsible in murder cases of Benazir Bhutto and Akbar Bugti, as the cases had no legal and constitutional status, The Nation reports Saif said that former Prime Minister Benazir was killed in 2007, but Musharraf was nominated in this case in 2010.Pakistan Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani has personally made it clear that the Taliban were responsible for Benazir’s assassination, he added.He also claimed that the Pakistan Peoples Party-led ruling government is not sincere to find out the murderers of Benazir.Saif also underlined that Bugti was killed in a military operation when he had rebelled against the Pakistan Government in Balochistan, and if Musharraf was responsible for Bugti’s killing then President Asif Ali Zardari should also be held responsible for killing of people in military operation in North Waziristan, adding that there is no difference between the military of
FATA and Balochistan.The APML Secretary General also said that the elements who used to criticise the policies of Musharraf during his regime were now pursuing those policies.

Musharraf condoles death of Khurhseed Qasuri’s mother

All Pakistan Muslim League Quaid and former President of Pakistan Pervez Musharraf and APML central leadership expressed their condolence over the sad demise of Khursheed Qasur’s mother.

In his condolence message APML Quaid Pervez Musharraf condoled with Khursheed Qasuri and prayed for the departed soul to rest in peace and for the grant of courage to the bereaved family.

Poverty reduction in the Musharraf era By Dr Akmal Hussain

 Afiery debate erupted last week, on the official poverty estimates made during the previous regime of Pervez Musharraf. Dr Nadeemul Haq, Deputy Chairman of the Planning Commission has faced a verbal attack from a concerned former official of the Musharraf government, for expressing scepticism at the latter’s poverty estimates. Even though there was more heat than light in the verbal war, Dr Haq has been “summoned” by a Parliamentary Committee, according to newspaper reports. Under these circumstances, perhaps a reasoned examination of the poverty estimates of the Musharraf government, however brief, may be helpful.

The official estimates claim a decline in the poverty incidence from 34.5 per cent in 2000-01 to 22.7 per cent in 2004-05. This reduction of 11.8 percentage points would suggest that almost one-third of poverty in Pakistan was eliminated within a period of only four years. If accepted at face value, this would probably be the largest poverty reduction over a four-year period in the history of the developing world, and would by far outmatch the poverty reduction performance of the former Soviet Union and China,

during their eras of central planning.Pakistan’s official poverty reduction figures for the period 2000-01 to 2004-05 become even more incredible when the data is disaggregated to the provincial level. Provincial level poverty figures of the official data set show that poverty in rural Sindh declined from 48.3 per cent in 2000-01 to 28.9 per cent over the period. Thus the Musharraf government’s figures would have us believe that over 40 per cent of the poverty problem in Sindh was eliminated within a four year-period of its rule. In terms of this

DR akmal hussain

trend, poverty in Sindh ought to have been completely eliminated by the year 2008-09. If this incredible phenomenon occurred, it was certainly not visible to the naked eye in Sindh.Further doubt is cast over these official poverty figures when we investigate the sources of growth on the basis of national income data for the same period. The results show that 80 per cent of the growth during the period was contributed by the services sector, consisting predominantly of banking, telecommunications and to a lesser extent, trade and transport. In the case of the large-scale manufacturing sector, the predominant driver of growth was automobiles and consumer electronics. Clearly, these sectors neither produce goods for the poor nor employ them. Therefore, the structure of the growth process during the Musharraf period was such that it could not be expected to have a substantial positive impact on poverty.Furthermore, there was a 70 per cent increase in the food price index in 2007-08; a sharp increase in gas and electricity prices; and a sharp increase in the prices of industrial and agriculture inputs following exchange rate depreciation. The aggregate consequence of the changes in these variables suggests that the positive effect of growth on poverty would be expected to have dampened by the end of the Musharraf regime rather than dramatically increased as the official figures claim.Finally, given the sharp increase in interpersonal inequality during the period, the trickle down effect of growth would tend to dry up. The mathematical relationship between growth, inequality and poverty is well known: For a given growth rate, the higher the level of inequality, the smaller the trickle-down effect. Indeed, if the inequality at the beginning of a period is high enough and if the growth of inequality is substantially greater than the growth of GDP, than the incidence of poverty may well rise rather than fall. The
huge poverty reduction estimates of the Musharraf government are, therefore, not consistent with the magnitude of the growth of inequality estimated from the same data set.

The official poverty data set of the Musharraf regime, which yields a poverty reduction magnitude unmatched in the history of developing countries, is neither internally consistent, nor is it consistent with national income data of Pakistan, nor consistent with the logic of economic science
The writer is distinguished professor of economics at Beaconhouse National University in Lahore

All Pakistan Muslam League memebership form

charge sheet against muslam league (N) 1

charge sheet against muslam league (N) 2