Gen. Pervez Musharraf may have taken the first concrete step toward legitimacy by assuming the Pakistan presidency yesterday but he has also set before him a more exacting task since seizing power in October 1999.
Musharraf was sworn in as Pakistan’s new president yesterday, enhancing his official stature ahead of a summit meeting with Indian Prime Minister Vajpayee on July 14. Musharraf will be retaining his position of “chief executive”, overseeing the government and commanding the armed forces, but the presidency gives him an elevated status in his talks with Vajpayee.
Musharraf’s move has also reinforced his vow that reforms he has begun will not be scrapped with the return of a civilian government that he has promised by October 2002, in compliance with a Supreme Court ruling.
But political analysts and commentators warn that the newly installed president may have bitten off more than he can possibly chew. The presidency, though prized, comes with its share of hazards and a man with a military background isn’t likely to appreciate the increasing scrutiny and intrusiveness his work will come under. Then there is the delicate and awkward business of appointing a prime minister for an interim period — at least until national elections are held in October 2002.
In the not too distant past, Zia-ul Haq, appointed a man who he thought was pliable. But even Muhammad Khan Junejo found it hard to cohabit with a military regime.
Presidents in Pakistan have been tested on their track record and treated differently — some very harshly. Should Musharraf hope for any better? His honesty and integrity have never been in question, yet all that is going to change now as Pakistanis have high expectations of their heads of state.
Till now Musharraf has largely been pitied by a multitude of people for inheriting a nearly bankrupt government. The West has shown its disdain for military governments but it is nevertheless keen to do business with him.
Predictably, the Commonwealth and Britain have protested the latest turn of events in Pakistan but India which has invited Musharraf for talks next month does not seem to be visibly upset. Delhi probably thinks that it is easy to engage in a more meaningful dialogue with a president than with a military chief. And while that happens Pakistanis’ eyes are on Musharraf. And the new president knows that.
Musharraf, who has claimed that “this was the most difficult decision I have taken, because it involved myself”, while assuming the presidency also stated that “I have a job to do here...so I will not let this nation down.”
This is what the whole of Pakistan will be hoping too. And he should not be surprised if the Pakistani people assess his performance against the standards he himself has set and applied to the political leaders of the country.
