'Come Into My Parlour'

Former Pakistan prime minister Benazir Bhutto has said that military ruler GeneralPervez Musharraf would be the 'weakest' Pakistani leader to have visited Indiaand his proposed summit meeting with prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee wouldprovide him the much needed breather.

"Even as General Musharraf packs his bags for a visit to Delhi, the citywhere he was born, he can hardly be envied. He goes there as the weakest leader Pakistanhas had in its dealing with its old rival," Benazir said in an articlepublished in the local media in Islamabad today.

She said the external sanctions, the lack of internal props of support, thesword of economic bankruptcy and the dependence on international financialinstitutions makes the India visit an important one for Gen. Musharraf. "Hewill need to show movement to continue with the oxygen mask given him throughthe Delhi invitation," she said.

In contrast, Benazir said, Vajpayee faced few such pressures and extended theinvitation to Gen. Musharraf after consulting opposition parties. 

"Vajpayee can afford to smile and say, as did the spider to the fly,'come into my parlour'," she said.

Also, Vajpayee's invitation to Gen Musharraf, "was calibrated with theend of the so-called ceasefire that existed in the Kashmir region for the lastone year. The end of the ceasefire could well mean more activity between Indianforces and Kashmiri militants and more pressure by Kashmiri militants, excludedfrom the talks, on Musharraf, as he makes his way to Delhi', she said.

"Musharraf's visit to New Delhi will be widely watched and reported. Hewill enjoy the journey to his hometown that he left at partition. It will befilled with nostalgia. But the shopping bags he brings home will be empty ofsubstantive agreements. That may be just as well. A Musharraf agreement wouldlack legitimacy in Pakistan. India's credentials as the world's largestdemocracy are hardly helped by dealing with a dictator," Bhutto said.

Recalling Vajpayee's visit to Lahore in 1999, Benazir said, Gen. Musharrafwho was then chief of the army made himself conspicuously absent from allceremonies to welcome the Indian leader.

"His absence signalled army disapproval of the visit. The Musharrafvisit illustrates the difference between political and militaryperceptions."

Benazir said "the same Musharraf who scoffed at the dialogue process bygovernments and opposed Vajpayee's visit, perforce changed his tune as chiefexecutive, calling for talks "any time, any place" and agreed tojourney to Delhi.

Though the Pakistan's opposition parties largely welcomed Gen. Musharraf'svisit, they believed "it denied legitimacy to any agreement reached by anun-elected leader", she said adding his visit however could "set theprecedent for better communication between the historical rivals".

"The opposition calculated a military ruler can make little headway innegotiations given the military's own vested interest in tension. But, withgeneral elections scheduled next year, it sees the visit as a softening of theprocess which it will be expected to culminate," she said.