Musharraf team is full of anti-Indians
New Delhi: The council of seven appointed by Pakistan’s military ruler, General Pervez Musharraf, has a strong anti-India face: new Foreign Minister Abdus Sattar and National Security Council member Attiya Inayutullah are both known for their rigid positions on Kashmir and other issues governing bilateral relations between the two countries.
Domestically, however, Gen. Musharraf has kept the focus on the economy, luring back from the US a top Citibank official, Shauqat Aziz, to head the finance ministry. Aziz had earlier visited Islamabad briefly to advise deposed prime minister Nawaz Sharif on financial matters, but without much success. He has accepted the new brief which will see him back in Pakistan after nearly 30 years abroad.
The inclusion of Governor of the State Bank of Pakistan Mohammad Yaqub in the NSC is also being as an effort to give serious attention to the country’s sagging economy. He has the reputation of being an “honest, upright” person. He has been with both the Benazir Bhutto and Nawaz Sharif governments and has no known political positions.
Sattar is well known in India having served as High Commissioner here. He is the only one of the team to have had a direct association with a political party, being an office-bearer in Imran Khan’s Tehriq-e-Insaaf. He is not among those that New Delhi regards as “friends.”
The senior adviser to Gen. Musharraf is the well-known constitutional expert Sharifuddin Pizada. He is described in Islamabad circles as the “permanent adviser” to successive governments, having served as the Attorney-General to the martial law administrator Gen. Zia-ul Haq as well.
He has been director-general with the Organisation of Islamic Countries which has taken strong anti-India postures on Kashmir.Attiya Inayutullah, an educationist who is also running a non-government voluntary organisation, has been leading the anti-India campaign in international fora.
She has been virulent in her speeches against India on the issue of Kashmir and is a well-known figure at the human rights talkshop held regularly in Geneva. She has also been associated with Gen Zia’s regime. The new team is being described in Islamabad as “new wine in old bottles.”
Intellectuals who spoke over the telephone to this correspondent, however, maintained that regardless of the advisers and the advice, “General Musharraf will call the shots.” A well-known activist in Karachi said, “It is clear Gen Musharraf is very keen on better relations between the two countries and here, the leadership at the top is important... these hawks will not have teeth.”
New Delhi: The council of seven appointed by Pakistan’s military ruler, General Pervez Musharraf, has a strong anti-India face: new Foreign Minister Abdus Sattar and National Security Council member Attiya Inayutullah are both known for their rigid positions on Kashmir and other issues governing bilateral relations between the two countries.
Domestically, however, Gen. Musharraf has kept the focus on the economy, luring back from the US a top Citibank official, Shauqat Aziz, to head the finance ministry. Aziz had earlier visited Islamabad briefly to advise deposed prime minister Nawaz Sharif on financial matters, but without much success. He has accepted the new brief which will see him back in Pakistan after nearly 30 years abroad.
The inclusion of Governor of the State Bank of Pakistan Mohammad Yaqub in the NSC is also being as an effort to give serious attention to the country’s sagging economy. He has the reputation of being an “honest, upright” person. He has been with both the Benazir Bhutto and Nawaz Sharif governments and has no known political positions.
Sattar is well known in India having served as High Commissioner here. He is the only one of the team to have had a direct association with a political party, being an office-bearer in Imran Khan’s Tehriq-e-Insaaf. He is not among those that New Delhi regards as “friends.”
The senior adviser to Gen. Musharraf is the well-known constitutional expert Sharifuddin Pizada. He is described in Islamabad circles as the “permanent adviser” to successive governments, having served as the Attorney-General to the martial law administrator Gen. Zia-ul Haq as well.
He has been director-general with the Organisation of Islamic Countries which has taken strong anti-India postures on Kashmir.Attiya Inayutullah, an educationist who is also running a non-government voluntary organisation, has been leading the anti-India campaign in international fora.
She has been virulent in her speeches against India on the issue of Kashmir and is a well-known figure at the human rights talkshop held regularly in Geneva. She has also been associated with Gen Zia’s regime. The new team is being described in Islamabad as “new wine in old bottles.”
Intellectuals who spoke over the telephone to this correspondent, however, maintained that regardless of the advisers and the advice, “General Musharraf will call the shots.” A well-known activist in Karachi said, “It is clear Gen Musharraf is very keen on better relations between the two countries and here, the leadership at the top is important... these hawks will not have teeth.”
Comment