Pervez Musharraf (1943- ) is an army general who seized power in Pakistan in 1999. In 2007 as I write this he is still in power.
In 2001 he made himself president. He changed the constitution to keep himself in power.
On November 3rd 2007 he tore up the constitution and put the country under military rule. He gave a speech on television at midnight, comparing himself to Lincoln.
In this his “second coup”, Musharraf fired most of the top judges, tore down the Supreme Court building and threw thousands in prison. He put men with guns round the houses of those who could raise the masses up against him and bring back democracy: people like Benazir Bhutto, who was prime minister twice in the 1990s, and Iftikhar Chaudhry, who was the top judge in the country till Musharraf fired him.
Musharraf promises to bring back democracy, but he has made and broken that promise before. Time will tell.
There are three centres of power that Musharraf has to take into account:
- America, which has given Pakistan huge amounts of money for its help in the war in Afghanistan and in the war on terror.
- The Islamists who want to bring Muslim rule to Pakistan. Some are fighting a holy war against him in the mountains in the north-west, where Osama bin Laden is believed to be. Others speak against him in the mosques and religious schools of the cities.
- The landed rich, like Benazir Bhutto, who want to bring back democracy and the good old days when they were in power and made themselves and their friends richer still.
Most people favour the Islamists: both democracy and military rule have been tried in Pakistan and found wanting.
The rank and file of the army favour the Islamists too and yet they are the ones fighting them. With the right leader, the army could change sides and overthrow Musharraf. But then they would face possible war with America: it is hard to imagine America would do nothing if the atom bombs of Pakistan fell into unfriendly hands.
America will back the landed rich if Musharraf loses control, as he slowly is.
Musharraf was not born in Pakistan but in India under British rule. When the British left and India broke apart into Hindu and Muslim halves, his family fled to the Muslim half: Pakistan.
He grew up speaking three languages: Urdu at home, English at school and Turkish with his friends. His father was posted with the Turkish embassy when he was a boy. Musharraf is Muslim but went to Christian schools.
Musharraf joined the army and worked his way up through the ranks. It was hard: unlike most soldiers he was not Punjabi. But it was for that very reason the government felt they could trust him and made him the head of the army in 1998.
Musharraf fought in two wars against India.
Musharraf has a brother in Chicago and a son in Boston.
See also:
Abagond 
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