Op-Ed
Islamabad Diary
9/5/2006
- By Seema Mustafa
Islamabad: Islamabad has a clearly defined power elite: The retired generals, former ISI chiefs and the gentry living in beautiful houses, in the green of the city that Pakistan created for itself as the capital, who are close to the Establishment and have a view on every issue in the world. They are all frequent travellers, the United States being the preferred destination. For the past several years they have been, in general, quite kindly disposed towards President Pervez Musharraf. So it was a big surprise to find that many of them crossed the fence, and after Baluchistan are either openly critical of the Army and the President, or are just completely silent. One gets the impression that if the Army had changed track, and had decided to at least express some regret for the killing of Baloch leader Nawab Akbar Bugti,and had resumed political negotiations, the power elite would have seized the fig leaf to cover their embarrassment. But in the absence of any such offer, the silence in Islamabad is deafening and should give President Musharraf some cause for alarm.
It was, therefore, not surprising that the dynamic PML-Q leader Mushahid Hussain was reluctant to meet this journalist for the usual chat. Never hesitant to talk and share a meal, Mushahid did not even come on the telephone as obviously he could not, at this point, defend the Army action in Baluchistan, and also not criticise it to the Indian media. So the "he will call back" did not materialise, and for those who know Mushahid, this was totally out of character, but in keeping with the current political environment in Pakistan. This PML-Q leader along with the chief, Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain, had worked out a political settlement with Nawab Bugti and had returned happily to Islamabad, positive that the crisis of confrontation would be tided over. To their surprise they found that the agreement was rejected completely by President Musharraf and the Army, and what was worse, the settlement did not lead to the negotiations they had hoped for, but to direct military action that left the Nawab dead. After expressing his initial dismay, Mushahid has joined the rest of Islamabad in its silence as the Army continues to determine the strategy for Baluchistan.
The cloak of silence was not for former ISI chief Lt. Gen. Assad Durrani, who was surprisingly frank in attacking the President and the Army for their policy on Baluchistan. Pointing to his own "Punjabi" roots, he said that the Army had made a mistake in thinking that the Baloch, "like the Punjabis," could be browbeaten. The second part of the statement raised some eyebrows, as browbeating Punjabis had never been a pastime of the Pakistani Army by any accounts, quite the other way actually. But one let it pass to question the general about the Pakistani belief that Indian agencies were involved in fomenting trouble in Baluchistan. Just as the sane people of India cannot attribute every sign of trouble to the ISI, surely you do not believe the propaganda that the Indian agencies are behind every act of resistance in Pakistan? Here the former ISI chief, a powerful figure in his time, was not biting. He shrugged and smiled - an answer in itself.
The minister of state for information and broadcasting, Tariq Azam Khan, was more forthcoming on this issue. Over a high tea of a variety of samosas, chaat, fruit chaat, fish fingers, chicken tikkas he spun a profile of Nawab Bugti as a born murderer - he had killed his first man at the age of 12 years; a blackmailer and a self-serving leader never given to a cause. In the midst of this the role of Indian intelligence agencies came up - this is a recurring theme in Islamabad these days - and the minister spoke of the "foreign hand" that he did not want to name. When pressed a little to be specific, he spoke of the dozens of consulates that India had opened in Afghanistan. Dozens, we had thought there were only four? That is what you think, was the reply, the others are unofficial. He said that his government was saddened by India's response to the Bugti killing: "We do not speak about your Naxalites, your internal matters, why should you speak about ours, why is India so interested, why do you have so many consulates, more than you have in any other country in the world, in Afghanistan where there are not even Indian citizens?"
There has been a television boom in Pakistan in less than two years. Bugti and Baluchistan were the main items for the news-related shows, with free and frank discussions on almost every aspect of the military operations. Nawab Bugti's son Talal was on the telephone from Quetta telling a television anchor how his father had been murdered in cold blood, how chemical weapons had been used to kill him, and how this, in his view, was the main reason why his body had been kept in a locked coffin and not handed over to his close relatives for burial. The print media kept up the pressure, with the newspapers appearing more free in their detailed presentation of the Baluchistan crisis that should actually put many of the Indian supposedly-national newspapers to shame. Said a senior member of the power elite, "Your newspapers do not question the government any more, ours now never stop raising questions." Do you think President Musharraf will crack down on the press? No, was the unanimous response, as all spoken to in Islamabad took the view that this is something he "just will not be able to afford, no one will accept it." It is true that the military has not been able to contain the fallout of the Baluchistan crisis in the media that has been headlining the story every single day. In fact, the critics of the military action are finding place on page one, while the government defence is being carried on the inside pages.
But all is not political. And again television - for us momentary visitors - reflects the happy shift in focus for Pakistan. Pretty little young things -boys included - are anchoring programmes on fashion, on music, on lifestyles. A young man with an impressive ponytail is in conversation with a fashion designer; three smart young people are conducting a really lively and professional programme on school admissions; others are dancing to a Pakistani band in tight jeans and tighter shirts. Pounding away at the computer keys in the business centre of the hotel, one was interrupted by the enthusiastic young hotel manager who excitedly said that a famous Pakistan television pop star was near the lifts. Not having heard her name, I must have appeared a little disinterested. He gave me a "aren't you weird?" look, but not one to be daunted, swung open the door to point towards a young woman in tight jeans and T-shirt waiting for the lifts. She turned around to see both of us staring at her, and a little embarrassed, I turned back to stare at the computer which by this time had lost its sheen. By this time the hotel manager had realised there was something seriously wrong with me and confirmed it with his next question: You are not from Pakistan are you? No. "Oh," he said and went on in an accusing tone that left me feeling a bit like a character out of a seamy spy novel, "I thought you were, you are wearing green and white, that is the colour of our flag!" No taxi drivers this time for the last word. Let it then go to the purser of the PIA flight who informed the astounded passengers that the delay in take off had been overcome by the pilot who had taken some effective "short cuts" on his way from Delhi to Lahore!