Musharraf's Many Moves Of Make-Believe

BRUSSELS

The general is getting trapped in his labyrinth. Pervez Musharraf’s habitof announcing peace initiatives to grab headlines while managing the terror-Talibannetwork is no longer sustainable as credible foreign policy. It is becoming alltoo obvious that the general makes offers, as the one recently, to withdraw hisclaim on Kashmir in exchange for self-governance by India largely for effect andto maintain a façade. Otherwise why would his army of intelligence operativesand diplomats be working frantically to strengthen that very claim on Kashmir inkey western capitals?

Interestingly, Musharraf does his most creative peace-making on television,not in meeting rooms where deals are actually made and signed. Televisiondiplomacy keeps up the image of a reluctant military dictator dancingprecariously above the deep depths of jihadism while holding together hisdangerous country with "enlightened moderation." But in reality the generalpresides over the same old think on Kashmir that his military predecessorsdevised in the early years.

Those in doubt may visit Brussels where Pakistan is engaged in an all-out warover its claim on Kashmir – all because of a 10-page report, which negatesevery myth Pakistan has painstakingly created about Kashmir over the decades.Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz is coming all the way to testify in front of an EUcommittee. It is both a sign of desperation and of insecurity. But givenPakistan’s limited foreign policy tablet, the loss of Kashmir as a weaponwould be serious.

The reportwas prepared by Baroness Emma Nicholson, a British member of European Parliamentor MEP, after visits to both sides of the border last year. The baroness hasdared to go beyond the usually accepted storyline of how India is mostly toblame for the status quo while Pakistan cares about the plight of the Kashmiripeople. She declared calls for a plebiscite "out of step with the needs of thelocal people" besides issuing a strong indictment of Pakistani society asundemocratic, which respects neither women nor gays and where literacy andhealthcare are distant goals.

The baroness is the first western official to do away with the pretence thatMusharraf is a democrat disguised as a dictator. Her sharp assessment is awelcome change from the usual tiresome western analysis, which seems almostafraid to deviate from the established pro-Pakistan narrative. The report is thefirst blunt assessment of the Kashmir situation – India can’t demilitarizeunless terrorism stops. And it is not that Nicholson takes India’s view –she criticizes Indian army for human rights violations and points out otherproblems. It is just that she is refreshingly honest about Pakistan. Given thegrim situation in Pakistan’s border areas, the rebirth of Taliban in Quettaand the attacks inside Afghanistan, it is time to move away from the fictionthat Musharraf is doing his bit. The report does just that.

Not surprisingly Islamabad has vowed to kill the report by whatever meansnecessary. The European Parliament will vote by February-end and until thenbattles will be waged for every word and every comma. Brussels will remain a hubof Pakistani lobbyists and ISI operatives. Already pro-Pakistan MEPs such as UK’sSajjad Karim have flooded the committee with amendments – a high 61 by himalone. A whopping 450 amendments, said to be the highest ever on any foreignpolicy report, are on the table, essentially watering down the report and ifadopted would render it meaningless mash.

The ISI fingerprints seem to be all over this campaign. According to anarticle in Pakistan Observer, the ISI is masterminding the entireamendment campaign, helpfully providing both language to willing MEPs and fundsto Kashmiri front organizations. The theoretical support is reportedly comingfrom the Institute of Strategic Studies in Islamabad, a think tank for thePakistani military establishment.

The heat from Pakistan is so high that a Hungarian MEP complained openly inthe session I attended about the "pressure" from Pakistani groups to votefor the amendments. The crude and rude games of domestic British politics haveinvaded the halls of EU parliament. British Labor Party, supposedly a friend ofIndia, is speaking with both ends of its mouth. While its future prime ministerGordon Brown made his first trip to India professing love and friendship, LaborMPs and MEPs have decided that killing the Kashmir report could be a way to winback Muslim voters in Britian who have deserted Labour for the Liberal Democratsin large numbers. Baroness Nicholson is a Lib Dem and Labour MEPs have turned sovicious that they have asked her to be "removed" from her position.

Pakistani operatives are sending a clear message in Britain – either youare with us or against us on Kashmir. A vote in Brussels could cost you in thenext election in UK is the open threat.

So what is India’s strategy against Musharraf’s many moving pieces? Fightback but no need to demean yourself by sending a prime minister to "testify"in front of a committee. Various Indian missions in Europe have been instructedto do "the needful" but India’s needful is not on the same war-footing asPakistan’s. It seems even when India is handed something on a platter, itfeels guilty about wielding it as a weapon. Watch Musharraf wield his – bothimaginary and real.