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Stop making empty boasts, Musharraf tells fanatics

Distancing himself from the traditional belligerent stand of Pakistani generals and former prime ministers, President Pervez Musharraf wondered what was the need for them to think in terms of hoisting a green flag over Delhi's Red Fort when their country's own economy is causing worry and needs immediate attention.

Speaking at a conference in Islamabad, General Musharraf pointedly asked the bearded audience why they felt the need for challenging India constantly, the weekly newspaper The Friday Times reported.

The paper said General Musharraf "spoke from the heart and the mind" and his message was critical of some of the attitudes in Pakistan adopted mostly by people who were attending the conference on Prophet Mohammed.

Deviating from his written speech, Pakistan's military ruler asked the audience, "What is the need of this empty boasting when the country is in a delicate situation economically and there is hardly a shred of unity or consensus on anything at home?"

He was referring to the verbal outbursts of his Deobandi warriors of the Kashmiri jihad when he questioned the wisdom of using violent language against states that are the origin of the foreign investment that Pakistan desperately needs, the paper noted.

Musharraf said he was himself a veteran of the Kashmir war and knew exactly where Pakistan was headed in its policy, but there was no need to spoil the country's economic chances by making violent statements, The Friday Times said.

The president believed that though Pakistan was the most important state in the world of Islam, it was weak and troubled. "It is the duty of all Pakistanis to first become strong and then challenge the world. Till then, Pakistan has to walk in step with the rest of the world, instead of asking the rest of the world to walk in step with it."

In a veiled attack on certain fundamentalist groups that have been threatening to carry out attacks on the United States and other powers, Musharraf made a special point, saying, "Pakistan is in such a weak position at home that making hostile statements about the big powers is not only useless, but also a disincentive to foreign investments."

The paper commented that economists should compute in terms of millions of dollars the amount of investment the country has lost each time they have published their mediocre jingoist diatribes against India in particular and the world in general.

It noted that Musharraf, barring his recent statement against the National Missile Defence programme of President George W Bush, has exercised a lot of unwanted caution while addressing a nation used to the grotesqueries of military braggadocio.

PTI

Indo-Pak Summit 2001: The Complete Coverage

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