President Pervez Musharraf has been described as the most successful "economic strategist and policy-maker" in the country's history, in an article in 'Khaleej Times' on Saturday.
Titled 'Islamabad's hall of fame', writer Matein Khalid has praised the policies President Musharraf has pursued after taking over in October, 2002, to bail out the fragile economy and establish its stature as a responsible state in the comity of nations. "The civilian governments that mismanaged Pakistan in the 1990s accumulated a $35 billion foreign debt and turned Islamabad into a pariah state in the international capital market," the article said.
However, it said, President Musharraf proved himself as the most successful economic strategist and policy maker. "The nation's debt was rescheduled; its banking was reformed; its economy was restructured.... Pakistan (now) has $11 billion in central bank's reserves, and the stock market has quadrupled," it said.
The writer also appreciated the decision taken by President Musharraf to join the international war on terrorism.
The writer also praised the efforts and initiatives taken by the President to start a peace dialogue with India for the resolution of the outstanding disputes including the key Kashmir dispute.
He underlined Musharraf's vision of "enlightened moderation to make Pakistan a modern, moderate, tolerant and a truly Islamic welfare state".
The article noted that the banning of extremist outfits by the President helped check sectarian violence in the country.
It highlighted his articulation against the archaic social customs such as honour killing or bonded labour.
"These are tangible achievements, which will shape the future of South Asia for generations yet unborn," the article said.
The writer also sought to draw comparison between Musharraf and the civilian leaders who preceded him.
"General Musharraf, unlike Nawaz Sharif and Benazir Bhutto, has a transformational agenda for Pakistan," the writer opined.
For him, Sharif and Bhutto "played the power game for their own sake and had neither the "vision nor the intellect" to kick-start the economy, settle disputes with India and implement structural reform.
He said that Benazir never held a job until she became a prime minister and Sharif's entry into politics was facilitated by his "father's industrial empire and slavish devotion to General Zia- ul-Haq".
Unlike them, the article said, Musharraf, having a distinguished career as army officer, rose to the pinnacles of power on his own merit.