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Subcontinental Drift: Year of the General, Part One
Musharraf began with promise: he hasn't kept it
By APARISIM GHOSH
October 12, 2000
Web posted at 3:00 p.m. Hong Kong time, 3:00 a.m. EDT
Exactly a year ago today, much of Pakistan rejoiced at the coup that brought
General Pervez Musharraf to power. Fed up with the venality and misrule of
successive civilian governments, many Pakistanis believed it would take a
military dictator to put their very untidy house in order. Musharraf, they
hoped, would crack down on widespread corruption, curb the suffocating influence
of feudal landlords, beat back the gathering forces of religious extremism,
resuscitate the comatose economy and restore Islamabad's image in the eyes of
the world.
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Read that last sentence again and you'll know exactly why there are no
spontaneous street celebrations on the first anniversary of the dictator's power
grab. After vowing to tackle Pakistan's pressing problems -- and showing some
signs he meant it -- the general quickly backed into the comfort of that old
excuse: "These things take time." Not surprisingly, as the plaintive editorials
in Pakistan's still-free newspapers suggest, most people are simply relieved
that things are not a lot worse than they were a year ago.
The pattern is now all too familiar: tough talk, followed by tepid action and
then timid retreat. Consider the general's performance in three key areas:
INTERACTIVE
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CORRUPTION:
The regime promised to take on every vested interest and bring to
book every crooked politician and public servant. But after jailing
deposed Prime Minister Mohammed Nawaz Sharif and a handful of his
cronies, Musharraf has done little. Indeed, there are now rumblings
about graft within the military regime and talk of kickbacks in arms
deals.
ECONOMY: The general promised efficient tax collection (a task
that has daunted every Pakistan ruler) and began a nationwide survey
to identify and punish dodgers. But after irate shopkeepers launched
a series of nationwide strikes, Musharraf apparently lost his appetite
for tax reform. Nor has he shown any stomach for confronting the feudal
landlords who hoard much of the country's wealth -- usually by less
than legal means -- and pay little or no tax.
INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS: Shortly after seizing power, Musharraf
made a grand tour of Southeast Asia's Muslim countries, evidently
to reinforce the legitimacy of his rule and to raise much-needed loans
and aid. To his great embarrassment, he received a lecture on democracy
from Malaysia's Mahathir Mohamad and a lukewarm welcome elsewhere.
Relations with the U.S., Pakistan's old friend, took a turn for the
worse with the coup, and things weren't helped when President Bill
Clinton, on a brief stopover in Islamabad, pointedly called for restoration
of democratic rule. Even China, Pakistan's new best friend, has proved
less than enthusiastic to embrace Musharraf.
Next week, we'll look at the things Musharraf has done right. It will probably
be a very short piece.
Note: What's YOUR take on Pervez Musharraf's year in power?
And what do you expect from him in the year to come? Post your comments
on the Subcontinental Drift bulletin board or email Time Asia.
The Subcontinental Drift message board -- sound-off about the news
in South Asia to TIME
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