Former President Musharraf Gives A Talk At Stanford, California

Erik, I am glad to hear that Musharraf agrees that reasons for non-state terrorism were illiteracy, poverty and political frustration.

For sure. The consensus amongst the student outside was that the question was not really about what he said, but whether he applied it during his time in power or more importantly whether the development in Pakistan right now is based on these ideas or not. It is one thing to talk about it, and one thing to actually implement these.

erik! is it possible to see Musharraf's speech on Youtube? I am curious to know how he answered many of the questions raised during the speech.

The event was pretty high security why no cameras or recording devices were allowed in the audience. A few traditional news organizations were allowed in to film the speech, but I haven't seen any videos of the speech posted online. If I come across a link with the video of the full speech, I will of course post it here.

thanks eriks, for your kind reply. Take care, Arif

Whether in fornt of Camera or not Musaharff is a big hoax; a dicttator;oppressive military despot--- he has killed his own people..his anlysis are always flawed.he toppled the ligitimate government in his own coutry and deposed the Chief Justicce-------He does not deserev a place like Stabford better call a clown...If you want to know about the list of his crimes meet some real Pakistani...

Kaz11, it is interesting how folks like you say "he toppled the legitimate government". Surely, you must know about the civilian plane that Musharraf was on at the time, which was running low on fuel and now allowed to land in its own country. Had it not been for Musharraf's timely action, hundred's of civilian lives would have been lost. Since my former school teacher was on that plane, I know enough about the context around Musharraf coming to power, so please don't give me nonsense about "toppling a legitimate government".

Thanks,
Nad

Well! it is absolutely preposterous to talk about other politicians in this context. Mushraff will go down only as a dictator because he usurped power .He has literally messed up the Constitution of Pakistan: purchased Judges and those who had the conscience were imprisoned and tortured. There is no crime like abrasion of the constitution of any country. What you call a free and fair election is another charade—the semblance of his so-called west-borrowed jugglery...In Pakistan the Generals come through the good office of US...this is sheer naivety to believe that 2008 election were fair... again it were manipulated to replace(and give the General a save exit) Musharraf with Zardari(the doppelganger)...it is fact the 1998 Government was a legitimate Government.Even his own co-hoots have now admitted that how ISI planned the overthrow of Shraif’s Government. How Musharff begged the PM(in 1998) to have his face saved after Kargal debacle...Well the freedom of press you are talking about is another misconception; he gagged media on numerous occasions. He did not give Press any freedom, they achieved it. Hundreds of Journalists were captured and removed by the agencies. I wonder how come you believe that he was ‘honest’... his son had become the richest business man in these last few years. He owns huge properties in Turkey and US and God knows where else. A COAS is only a Grade22 person but if he is a PRESIDENT and the COAS (simultaneously) then he is a pirate personified in Mushararf.
I wonder how he sleeps at night ... can’t he hear the voices of those thousands of poor orphaned children whom he burnt alive in the Hafas Mosque tragedy. He bargained his own people for American dollars.
The plane crash is his biggest gimmickry. Even the persons who gave verdict at that time in his favor, in the court, have reverted from their statements, of late. Mushraff has been asked to prove this plane drama in the court but his cronies could not collect rubbish to prove him innocent. Come out of the Alice’s Wonderland. A General in Pakistan is a different brand.
He has been successful in bamboozling the western powers in exchange of ‘Enlightened Moderation’ and pleased his western audience but killed his own people. Fine! He belongs to the same ruling elite of the Pakistan who enter the echelon of power, exploit it and deliver lecturers in Stanford.(Read Fanon’s The Wretched of the Earth) Disgusting! The Western powers know their price so they to keep them alive... the likes of MUSHRAFF are instrumental in the furthering the neo-colonial business.
This proposition is inherently flawed that a General can be a democratic and visionary. I hate this man but have logic. Live among the millions of poverty-stricken people, you will know the reality.

The plane running low on fuel is just a total drama and distortion of facts to provide some cover to Musharraf's action. The facts are now open to the public, none other then Musharraf's own former comrades. The top military leadership including several generals at the time have openly admitted that there was no such thing as low fuel. The plane was simply diverted to a different airport. The elections in 2002 were orchestrated by the intelligence agencies simply to give Musharraf a legal cover.

Removal of the Chief Justice of Pakistan was simply to secure his rule. Musharraf felt threatened by the panel conducting the trial as he couldnt influence them. He is a dictator and a total hoax. Behind his well composed calm lays a man with no respect for human life and supremacy of the constitution.

As I said, my former school teacher was on that plane, so I know of events firsthand, not from army generals or politicians who distort the facts.

You call Musharraf a dictator. Well, let me add to that:
1) He was a dictator who in 2008 held the free-est and fairest elections in Pakistan's history
2)He was a dictator who for most (granted, not all) of his 9 year rule gave the Press unprecedented freedom of speech.
3) He was a dictator who was a lot more honest than all the democratically elected leaders who came before him or after him. Or are you suggesting that Mr. 10% is also a political cover up. Sharif is not far behind Mr. 10% at a net worth of close to a billion dollars. Or is Mr. Sharif's net worth also a political cover up?

Dear, it is quite reasonable to assume that while your teacher was inside the plane he was certainly not inside the fuel tank. So its a wrong premise for your argument.

Free elections and freedom of speech came as inevitable outcomes of contemporary socio-political dynamics, without any effort on the part of Mush rather against his will.

You consider him honest because you might have not known his capital farm land and military aid corruptions. I'll recommend you to go through "Military Incorporation" by Dr. Ayesha Siddiqua of UK.

Of course he was not an exception in corruption given the malfeasance of Zardari and Nawaz goverments. But the point I want to make is that in any case he should not have toppled the government and suspended the constitution. Pakistan is a constitutional Islamic Republic established on the principles of justice and freedom. There are better ways to solve the problems than military intervention.

If make the judiciary free, develop positive public opinion against the corrupt and opputunist politicians, and consolidate our institutions, we should expect that the democratic constitutional process will eventually lead to an honest and God fearing leadership for this country which would enjoy deep confidence in people. Army is a respected institution and has better things to do.

Let everyone of us play a positive role for the progress of our country and nation. We should look what we are doing in our spheres. Self criticism is more important than peeping into others. On the Day of Judgment we'll be held responsible for ourselves not others.

The basic practical step, at least everyone of us can take in this direction, is to vote the most honest person in our constituency.

No bitter feelings. Salam to All.

I agree that we should vote for the most honest person which unfortunately is not available.
Foremost, we need to strengthen the Judiciary. No nation can survive without dispensation of Justice. From where will we bring people to discern the right person from the wrong? The only solution is to carry on even with the worst kind of Democracy and one day, it may evolve into a conscientious and nationalistic government.
Perception is a gift and misperception is an unforced error not error of judgment. PMLQ spearheaded by Mushraff have damaged the sovereignty of this country so your borders are unsafe, your foreign policy is ineffectual? Your infrastructure is on decline.
I am neither a pessimist nor a cynic but do not believe in evading the reality.

Thanks for your email Waraich. It is quite a balanced email, so I think we can have an honest exchange of views:

1) When I say that gas on that ill-fated plane in 1999 was running low, it is based on a reasonable assumption of probability since no one, not even the pilot was in the tank itself. Note that the flight was a short flight which likely means that it did not have a lot of access gasonline. It had circled the Karachi airport multiple times. So a reasonably likely conclusion is that accounts that the fuel was low are correct.

2) When I referred to unprecedented freedom of press in Musharraf's time, I was not referring to his final days, but rather through 2006 inclusive. In fact, it is interesting to note that this freedom was suddenly revoked when Geo-TV showed heads of Pakistani soldiers being kicked around like soccer balls.

3) I agree that Pakistan should vote in the most honest person. In fact, that is precisely why Pakistan should vote in Musharraf. Surely, he is more honest than Zardari and Sharif.

No bitter feelings
Thanks

Those who advocate Musharraf's freedom of press should check the level of torture journalist and lawyers were subjected to when he declared the emergency. This had only to do with the fact that Musharraf wanted to stick to power against the constitution and huge public protests. The heads of army soldiers being tossed around is such a lame reason that Musharraf came up with. There was no such thing and it only had to do with the fact that the media covered the state torture that the public was subjected to.

You referred to 2008 elections as being free. Please dont forget that at this time Musharraf had lost his position of heading the army and the intelligence agencies. The elections of 2002 when Musharraf was heading these agencies were totally manipulated. The DG ISI of 2002 is on record admitting that he not only manipulated the election results but also political parties to gather support for Musharraf.

The plane circled around Karachi because Musharraf was in the cockpit at the time. The pilots had direct instructions to approach towards Nawabshah (a nearby airport) for a landing. Musharraf was actually the hijacker as he kept the pilots circling around Karachi till his sycophants completed a coup, topple the democratic government and insure that law enforcement agencies dont arrest him.

Pakistan can only vote for honest people when a democratic setup is allowed to function and leaders evolve through the system. Zardari heading Pakistan is a direct consequence of Musharraf derailing the democratic process. What better can you except after an Army general, there was Yayha after dictator Ayub and it would be naive to expect any better than Zardari after Musharraf.

Musharraf was an army officer and is bound by the constitution not to get involved in politics. If he had political ambitions, he shouldnt have headed the army in the first place.

I agree with you Hisham and appreciate that people in Pakistan still have the courage to see the beyond.cheers KAZI1

1) Ask any Aviation expert that a flight normally carries a three times more fuel.The pilot cirling on the airport: Musharrf was in contact with his three trusted traitors CORE-COMMANDERS, who actually are equally responsible for de-railing the democracy. According to Pakistani constitution they all should be behind the bars under ‘High treason case’. Ask any Constitutional expert. Do not live on assumptions. History has its own course. Your comparative likes and dislikes will not change/compensate the flow of tide and the wrongs these peoples/Generals have committed. What you call a’ reasonable conclusion’ also suggest that the then Prime Minister was so powerful that he arranged all this!!!Come on-In Pakistan had been the civilian Prime ministers been so powerful; these fluffy Generals would have been in their enclaves.
2) Even in his early days there was not freedom of press. Freedom of press is also a Myth like Mushraff’s Democracy...After 90’s international Satellite channels were within access of average Pakistani (the Dish culture) and BBC /CNN were aired. Is it Musharrf who started STN or allowed BBC and CNN to be aired? Check out. Two Emergencies. Two times National TV stations was invaded. Triple Brigade Democrat is not a democrat. I really wonder when the present generation of Pakistani People is seen enamoured of such filth like Musharff. Please for God sake open your eyes and stop worshipping these sacred cows! What you call ‘balance approach’ is indicative of Status- quo and until and unless we as a nation keep on living in comparisons, we will land nowhere.
3) Your definition of ‘more honest’ means, he is honest for handful rich elite of Pakistan. Good luck with your heady idealism of a wily General who but destroyed the Pakistan of Jinnah and killed its innocent people, used brutal force and asked the publishers to write a silly stupid Book—in the line of Criminal?

I think it is not only about Musharraf, it should be about Pakistan. I do nt know why it is in Pakistan that a dictator always bring out a politician as his protege but the political parties run in family ( a la) monarchy. Can we join hand and get rid of this monarchy and then we will be able to get rid of dictatorship. If bringing a head of government from a political party then Nazi and Fascist parties can be a good example of DEMOCRACY.

An argument is that only democracy can bring change, can someone describe why the incongruence between India and China. These countries came into existence together and are comparable in size but the growth rate and foreign exchange reserves of China far exceed those of India (a so called democracy). I am not comparing Pakistan here as we have been ruined by the sham democracies that we have been imposed upon us by those who do not want us to develop. The result has been corrupt and inept governments. Pakistan's growth rate has been very high during the so called dictatorships as compared to the sham democracies.

Democracy can only survive if the voters know their rights. In Pakistan a large majority does not have Identity Cards and they do not know their own rights. Jirga replaces courts. Getting ones son a lucrative job through unfair means is not considered a sin but getting marks for ones daughter is a no no (both are wrong in a balanced society). We are shy to speak up. Do we have a role model for our future generation. Its about time that we start pointing fingers at ourselves rather then pointing finger at everyone else except one's own self.

nad111 and Shehzad appear to be the only two voices that make any sense in this despicable orgy of Musharraf bashing. Musharraf, in spite of being a dictator, did far more to pave the way for real democracy than all of Pakistan's feudal/political class ever did. With the exception of India, there is no other country that has truly democratized without first becoming industrialized. But then Indian democracy has been failure at providing the basic rights of freedom from abject poverty and continuing starvation for several hundred million of its citizens. Whether you look at the hunger index, or poverty index or rich-poor gap as measured by Ginni coefficient, India fares worse than Pakistan.

Please read more about my thoughts at http://www.riazhaq.com/2009/01/grinding-poverty-in-resurgent-india.html

The poverty index of Pakistan became worse under Musharraf.

Musharraf was one of the best leaders ever come in Pakistan.
Although he made mistakes furing his reign but one thing is certain that he was sincere with Pakistan more than anyone. He wasn't the production of feudal syestem. My comments are based on a no. of facts
1. He took good decisian in a time when Pakistan was in deep crisis and it could become impossible for any so callled democratic ruler to do the decisians like he did.
2. Economy was much better in his time.
3.Media progressed and he in the very first time in the history of Pakistan, introduced the culture of freedom of speech.
4. He was sincere to end extremism and he wanted to make Pakistan a moderate country though many things and his some decisian went against his mission.
5. Corruption level was very low in his time unlike that used to happen in so called democratic rule. because both the top two parties of pakistan earned a big name for their corruption.
6. His vision was very good in terms of education,he provided higher education comission with a large budget to boost reasearch in pakistan.And we all know that what has happened in this govt as cutting of budget in edu was their first step.

Long live Musharraf
I believe in future, if not today , ppl will remeber you as one of the greates leader of Pakistan.

Musharraf wasnt a production of the feudal syestem but worse, was a result of the Military Industrial Complex that has plagued the Pakistani System. I will refute each of your so called facts.

1- Pakistan was never in any crisis when Musharraf grabbed power. Pakistan was actually in much deeper crisis when he left the power. With insurgency and extremism having strong roots as a direct result of his policies.

2- The Economy worsened under his rule. It was just a credit driven balloon and the current economic crisis was predicted by experts during his time.

3- We all saw what a dictator means by freedom of speech. You are free only to praise and not to criticize the dictator. Anyone who has doubts on this should check the way journalists were beaten up during his rule. Not only this, there is evidence to implicate the Army for being involved and killing of journalists during his rule. If you doubt this, read about Hayatullah Khan; a journalist who first reported about the US drone attacks in 2006. His report directly contradicted government claims and was killed under mysterious circumstances. Any inquiry was ordered by the Prime Minister, but it as expected was never concluded. This is just one example. There are numerous cases of this behind the sham of Freedom of Speech under Musharraf.

4- Musharraf actually wanted to keep up extremism just to get American support. The manipulation of election in 2002 to give a major position to the religious parties is just one example. Army land was alloted by Musharraf to these religious politicians to get political support.

5- Corruption was all time high with no accountability of any sort. His cronies made millions and none could question them because of the dictator. Embezzlement of funds under the 2005 Earthquake Program is just one example. Millions have been spent on record, whereas there has been no rehabilitation on ground. This program had no accountability and there were no internal or external audits.

6- The HEC program was yet another way of making millions. The large budget provided didnt establish a single university in the country. The so-called 30 universities established are actually colleges being granted the status of university. Without any upgrade on infrastructure.

I hope that the People of Pakistan get to conduct a free trial on charges of treason on Musharraf. Whatever we may say are simply our opinions. The ground reality is that Musharraf dishonored the oath of his office and committed his treason. A free trail should be conducted on these charges. I hope a lesson is made out of Musharraf for any future dictators or adventurists.

LONG LIVE PERVEZ MUSHARRAF Those who are claiming to be champions of democracy in Pakistan should know that it was Musharraf who brought real democracy in Pakistan and whether he was an army General or not it does not make any difference, Any constitution which will hinder the path of Pakistan's prosperity is better to be abrogated than Pakistan becoming a failed state under fuedal corrupt politicians.

Thanks for the report Erik! If the General was luke warm, It has been
made up by the passions and debate seen here in the comments. I've
learned an awful lot from reading them. As a world leader I see the
the man as a corruptible individual with some intellect. He was no
Noriega or Somoza! He danced to the American fiddle and tried to be
a half-arse benevolent dictator at a time of upheaval in his country.
One thing is for certain..he left a void that so far hasn't found its
equallibrium. yet! One can only hope for better days & dialogue.

Whatever he said, we should take the positive perspective and throw away whatever the negative statement that he said.

Thats the wonderful report about topic. The strength of writer is amazing.