KARACHI, 8 July — Pakistan’s former Prime Minister and People’s Party leader, Benazir Bhutto has said that India will be making a “colossal mistake” if it believed that Pervez Musharraf can play a peace card at the Agra summit, and thought that there will be a severe “ backlash” if Musharraf tried to yield on the Kashmir question.
“The entire visit is geared up to take off pressure from Afghanistan,” she told the BBC’s program “Hardtalk”, monitored in Karachi on Friday night.
The PPP leader recalled that the previous government of Nawaz Sharif had faced a backlash after meeting the Indian Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee in Lahore. “Musharraf can go to New Delhi, but there will be a reaction,” she said. She made it clear that India, despite being a democracy, had chosen to negotiate terms with a military dictator in Pakistan.
New Delhi forgot the fundamental point that Musharraf was a dictator and that he represented no one. He lacked the popular mandate to represent the country at such an important occasion, she said.
Even the Pakistan Army could turn around tomorrow and force Musharraf to retire because the army may not accept what Musharraf negotiates and signs in Delhi. The army can always say that Musharraf was a retired man and had no mandate to deal sensitive issues like settlement of disputes with India.
“Key elements within our population can say that too,” she said and felt that Musharraf’s visit to India can be motivated by two fundamental considerations. First, army generals in Pakistan were under pressure because of sanctions against Afghanistan, and secondly, they perhaps would be giving the impression to the West of being “good guys”, to win support to perpetuate in power.
Benazir who described Musharraf as a “de facto” president, refused to recognize his latest position, because he had not consulted the PPP before assuming the presidency. She, however, thought that Musharraf was a better “dictator” than the Muslim League leader, Nawaz Sharif, whom he condemned as a “fascist”.
Benazir stressed the need for going beyond the “conflict solution” and to work for “conflict management”. She reiterated her earlier demand for free movement of the Kashmiris within the Kashmir territories, in Pakistan or Indian controls.
Asked for her own views on the solution of Kashmir dispute, she said, she always favored a plebiscite in the valley, but to build trust and confidence. India, Pakistan, and the people of Kashmir should have negotiations for “meeting of hearts”. Benazir felt confident that she would win the elections on return to Pakistan and will be back in power again.
