The General and the pussycats
The General and the ax man---JPR
dawn.com
THE Chief Executive appeared on two televised interviews recently, one on Pakistan Television and
the other on Doordarshan. The two interviews were a world apart, even though both were conducted
and shown on State-run channels of two neighbouring countries with a shared heritage going back
over centuries, and in which while there are some differences, there are many similarities too. While
the person being interviewed was the same on both the occasions, the interviewers were different,
both belonging to their respective networks, and thereby reflected the qualitative differences in the
policies and outlook of their organizations.
100 days and I am still here says the General.JPR
First, the PTV interview was obviously for domestic consumption, and possibly for the expatriate
Pakistani community via satellite television. It gave an opportunity to the Chief Executive to dwell and
dilate on his policies and perceptions, explain his plans and his expectations, etc. It seemed to be
timed with the completion of his first hundred days in office after taking over the reins of government
on October 12 last year.
The Pakistani nation had by and large welcomed the overthrow of the "elected" and "heavily
mandated" order which had held out so much promise and fell so short on performance. The only
people who seemed to mourn the ouster of that old order were the ones booted out, including those
adorning the various Assemblies and other elected offices, and those who stood to gain by their
closeness to the ousted ruling classes. In the Army the nation saw yet another messiah, and attached
much hope to the new order.
Like all honeymoons, this one too seemed to be over all too quickly, and seemed to reflect the
disillusionment that usually follows the first flush of a highly romantic marriage. The English language
press began to carry reports of disenchantment with the new rulers, although they should have known
too well that it is very difficult to bring about meaningful changes in our systems and our social,
political and bureaucratic cultures, no matter which knight in shining armour rides into town swearing
to slay the dragon that embodies sloth, venality, nepotism, parochialism, and all the other ills that can
be imagined that have come to plague our national polity.
TV interview: The General got kid glove treatment. The interviewers were either too respectful of the authority the General projected or too afraid to ask probing questions for fear of reprisal-JPR
The interview, if at all it can be called that, was conducted by a man and woman duo whom one had
never recalled seeing on television before. The lady barely said a word, and the one or two that she
did say were best left unsaid. The gentleman pussyfooted around for the duration of the interview, not
throwing a single solid punch for the hour-long match. Not one difficult or incisive question did he toss
at the General.
Karan tried to make minced meat of the General, but the General rolled with the punches--JPR
The second interview was aired on Doordarshan on the night of February 6; being in English and only
available on satellite television; it would therefore have been watched by a very limited number of
Pakistanis. Now this one was in the true mould of Tim Sebastian's Hard Talk. The Indian interviewer,
Karan Thapar, cut and probed, eagerly seeking out any chink or crack in the General's armour. In an
incisive, bordering on aggressive, manner, the interviewer delved deep into the recesses of the
General's mind, drawing him out on a host of questions, including the possibility of Pakistan launching
a first or a preemptive nuclear strike against India.
General Musharraf reiterated in no uncertain terms the centrality of the Kashmir dispute to
Indo-Pakistan relations and peace in South Asia, and in fact that Kashmir is the only dispute between
the two neighbours. Much as the General seemed reluctant to talk to the current Indian leadership
unless it accepted this fact, towards the end, Karan Thapar managed to extract an agreement from the
General to meet the Indian Prime Minister who reportedly has promptly spurned the offer till such time
that Pakistan, as he sees it, stop sponsoring, aiding and abetting the 'miscreants' in Indian Occupied
Kashmir.
The interview was conducted as such interviews should be conducted: face to face, practically eyeball
to eyeball, asking for no quarter, nor giving any. Like a true soldier, the General was in his element
when faced with a live enemy, with the bullets flying in a no holds barred verbal duel. Despite the
aggressive demeanour of the interviewer, he held his ground, not yielding or succumbing to
intimidation, nor did he lose his cool or composure; no sweat showed on his brow as he firmly
withstood the onslaught of questions, staying unfazed throughout. In short, in the opinion of this writer
at least, he did us proud in this interview with Doordarshan. Let there be more in this vein.
Soon thereafter, on the night of February 10, the same Karan Thapar compered a panel discussion.
Doordarshan's Talkback show centred around his earlier interview with General Musharraf, in which
the various aspects, meanings, nuances, etc, of the interview were examined by a distinguished panel
of experts. Among other things, the General's sincerity of holding meaningful talks with India, and
comparison with previous Pakistani military rulers came under discussion too. This panel discussion on
Karan Thapar's earlier interview with General Musharraf may be an indicator, a straw in the wind, if
you will, of the Indian leadership's realization that, much as it might question the legitimacy of the
undemocratic new order in Pakistan, it is here to stay for the long haul, and that prudence demands
that the fact be accepted and talks resumed.
Finally, here are two suggestions for Islamabad's policy makers;
(1) Air the Doordarshan interview in question in full on Pakistani channels, with Urdu subtitles for
those of us who do not understand English.
(2) According to reports on PTV, the Chief Executive's interview was the first of a series with the
leading lights of the new Pakistani order. If the manner and format of the C.E's interview was a
precursor of what is to follow, abort the idea without further ado!!
M. SHER KHAN, BRIG (RETD)
Rawalpindi |
