Musharraf's address

President General Pervez Musharraf took advantage of the opportunity of addressing the Milli Majlis or Azerbaijan Parliament the other day to explicate the set of themes that have become associated with his philosophy of 'Enlightened Moderation'.
The basic thrust of his remarks revolved around the plight of Muslims the world over. Many fronts had been opened against Muslims, the President argued, which now required closure. Political disputes in which Muslims were involved, mostly as victims or occupied peoples, needed to be resolved on the basis of justice if global peace and harmony were to be achieved.
The lingering problems of Palestine, Kashmir and Nagorno Karabakh need resolution. The President's remark that an Israel that returns to its 1967 borders and lives peacefully with a neighbouring independent Palestinian state should be acceptable has aroused some controversy at home since it goes beyond Pakistan's foreign policy position so far that the state of Israel as such is unacceptable.
Muslim nations, the President said, were perceived as sponsors of terrorism and Muslims in the West are subjected to discrimination and exclusion. As a consequence, there was deep anger in the Muslim world, which was manifesting itself in diverse forms of militancy and extremism. Genuine freedom movements too were being hijacked by 'misled terrorists'.
Unfortunately, those involved in such acts of terrorism are all Muslims, causing irreparable damage to Muslim countries and killing hundreds, if not thousands, of fellow Muslims because of their misperceived interpretation of Jihad.
The President appealed to such elements to return to the path of sanity and realise that their methods, including suicide and car bombings, cutting off heads and victimising innocent people caught up in the maelstrom of events, could never resolve the problems of the Muslim world. He called upon the Muslim Ummah to join hands to defeat the nefarious designs of these very misled few. For this, he felt the OIC needed to be restructured to face the challenges of the 21st century.
He also called for greater activation of ECO, which had failed so far to fulfil its promise. The other 'prong' of General Musharraf's 'pincer' strategy is for the West to help resolve the disputes troubling the Muslim world and help it advance on the path of socio-economic development. This, he argued, was the only strategy that could end up as a win-win for all.
The logic of the President's position has to be appreciated. But a timeframe for immediate tasks rather than the long-term solutions mooted is also required. The misled Muslim terrorists are the offspring of a Jihadi culture, which was encouraged by the military establishment in Pakistan and the West during the Afghan resistance against Soviet occupation.
The Mujahideen political culture in Afghanistan spawned similar militant movements in Pakistan as well as the rest of the Muslim world, some of whom were then hosted in Afghanistan. The most striking example of this was the hosting of al Qaeda in Afghanistan by the Taleban, a movement supported until 9/11 by our military establishment.
That seminal event changed everything. President General Musharraf's theme since abandoning the Taleban and joining hands with the US in its war on terror represents a belated appreciation by the same military establishment of the monster they have nurtured, which has now turned on its former mentors at home and abroad.
The solutions the President has outlined, ie Muslim unity against terrorism, the West's assistance in resolution of long running disputes involving Muslims and helping the latter to enter the modern world on an equal footing, are eminently sensible, but long term.
In the immediate future, there is no escape from the task of crushing the extremists and terrorists and cleansing the Muslim countries of this dangerous outgrowth. There is a perception that this has not always been pursued by General Musharraf's regime with utmost consistency or conviction, giving birth to suspicions about his regime's commitments. Justified or not, such lingering suspicions, especially in the US, are working against Pakistan's interests.
Given that the extremists and terrorists have declared war against Pakistan and even attempted to assassinate General Musharraf repeatedly, there is no remedy now except to conduct the struggle against these forces to the bitter end.