Dictionary of Meaning
<<Back
Please select a letter:
A |
B |
C |
D |
E |
F |
G |
H |
I |
J |
K |
L |
M |
N |
O |
P |
Q |
R |
S |
T |
U |
V |
W |
X |
Y |
Z |
0-9
Click here for Shopping
Pervez Musharraf
*** Shopping-Tip: Pervez Musharraf
{{npov}}
{| align="right" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="0" style="border: 1px solid; margin-left: 1em"
|+ '''General Pervez Musharraf'''
! bgcolor="#efefef" colspan="2" |
Image:Lt General Musharaf.jpg 250px|Lt General Musharraf COAS and I Corp Commander (Mangla)
|-
! Date of birth:
|
August 11 1943
|-
! bgcolor="#efefef" colspan="2" |
President of Pakistan
|-
! Tenure order:
| 12th President
|-
! Took office:
|
October 12 1999 –
June 20 2001 ''(de facto)''
June 20 2001 –
|-
! Predecessor:
|
Muhammad Rafiq Tarar
|-
! Successor:
| ''Incumbent''
|-
! bgcolor="#efefef" colspan="2" |
:Category:Chiefs of Army Staff, Pakistan Chief of the Army Staff
|-
! Tenure order:
| 13th Chief of the Army Staff
|-
! Took office:
|
October 7 1998 – ''Incumbent''
|-
! Predecessor:
| Gen.
Jehangir Karamat
|-
! Successor:
| ''Incumbent''
|}
'''Pervez Musharraf''' ({{lang-ur| پرويز مشرÙ?}}); born
August 11,
1943 (
Delhi,
British India India) is the current president of
Pakistan. He took power on October 12, 1999 after a
coup d'état and assumed the title of
president of Pakistan on June 20, 2001, succeeding
Rafiq Tarar.
Family background
Musharraf's parents came from a middle class background and both were college-educated. His mother, Begum Zehra Musharraf, majored in
English Literature. She worked for the
International Labour Organisation (ILO) and retired in 1986. Syed Musharraf-ud-Din, Musharraf's father, was a graduate of
Aligarh University in India. He joined Pakistan's Foreign Service in a clerical position and progressed in his career, retiring as a Section Officer in the Foreign Ministry. He spent several years in the capacity of support staff in the Pakistan Embassy in
Ankara,
Turkey where Musharraf spent part of his childhood and learned to speak fluent
Turkish language Turkish.
Musharraf was born in
Daryaganj in
Delhi, India and after the
independence of Pakistan, in
1947, his family settled in
Karachi,
Sindh,
Pakistan. General Pervez Musharraf is married to Begum
Sehba Musharraf and has two children. His brother is a medical doctor in
Chicago.
Education
Musharraf attended
Saint Patrick's High School, Karachi graduating in 1958 before going on to attend
Forman Christian College in Lahore.
Military training
In 1961, he joined the
Pakistan Military Academy at
Kakul. A graduate of Command and Staff College, Quetta, and the National Defense College, Pakistan, General Pervez Musharraf also studied at the
Royal College of Defence Studies,
United Kingdom.
This information is correct.
Military career
Musharraf participated in the
Indo-Pakistani War of 1971 as a
Company (military unit) Company Commander in the
Special Service Group SSG Commando
Battalion. He had the responsibility of commanding
artillery regiments and an armoured
division (military) division. In September 1987, heading a newly formed SSG at Khapalu base (Kashmir) he launched an assault to capture the Indian held posts of Bilafond La. On promotion to the rank of
Major General on
January 15,
1991, he was given the command of an
Division_(military)#Infantry Infantry Division and later of the elite
Strike Corps as
Lieutenant General on
October 21,
1995. Musharraf was promoted to Army Chief in 1998, when General
Jehangir Karamat, resigned. In 1999, he led the Pakistan Army during the
Kargil Conflict.
Role in Kargil Conflict
From April to June, 1999, Pakistan and India were involved in
Kargil Conflict in which Musharraf was Pakistan's Army chief. This conflict resulted in eventual mistrust between civil and military leaderships and this division ultimately saw the demise of democratic system in Pakistan. Many believed that he masterminded the
Kargil War.
Coup d'état and election
Image:Musharaff addressing nation.jpeg right|300px
Coup d'état
Musharraf became ''
de facto''
Head of Government (using the title ''Chief Executive'' and assuming extensive powers) of
Pakistan following a bloodless
coup d'état on
12 October,
1999. That day, Prime Minister
Nawaz Sharif attempted to dismiss Musharraf and install
Inter-Services Intelligence ISI director Khwaja Ziauddin in his place. Musharraf, who was out of the country, boarded a commercial airliner to return to Pakistan. Senior Army generals refused to accept Musharraf's dismissal. Sharif ordered the Karachi airport to prevent the landing of the airliner, which then circled the skies over Karachi. In the
coup d'état coup, the generals ousted Sharif's administration and took over the airport. The plane landed with only a few minutes of fuel to spare, and Musharraf assumed control of the government. Sharif was put under house arrest and later exiled. He and other democratic leaders have even been prevented from entering Pakistan. The existing
President of Pakistan,
Rafiq Tarar, remained in office until June 2001. Musharraf formally made himself President on
June 20,
2001, just days before his scheduled visit to
Agra for talks with India.
Referendum held: Supreme Court orders elections
Shortly after Musharraf's takeover, several people filed court petitions challenging his assumption of power. On
May 12,
2000, the
Supreme Court of Pakistan ordered Musharraf to hold general elections by
October 12,
2002. In an attempt to legitimize his presidency and assure its continuance after the approaching restoration of democracy, he held a
referendum on
April 30,
2002 to extend his presidential term to five years after the October elections. However, the referendum was
boycotted by the majority of Pakistani political groupings, which later complained that the elections were heavily
Rigged election rigged, and
voter turnout was 30% or below by most estimates. A few weeks later, Musharraf went on TV and apologized to the nation for "irregularities" in the referendum.
Musharraf also forcibly removed many of the Supreme Court Justices who had voted against his usurpation of power. These included Justice Taqi Usmani, a world authority on International financial law and Constitutional law. Newspaper editors who were critical of Musharraf, such as the editor of the Balochistan Post, have also been exiled.
General elections were held in October, 2002 and a
plurality of the seats in the
Parliament of Pakistan Parliament were won by the
Pakistan Muslim League (Q) PML-Q, a pro-Musharraf party consisting of feudal landlords whose power and hold on politics Musharraf had promised to destroy. However, parties opposed to Musharraf effectively paralysed the
National Assembly of Pakistan National Assembly for over a year. The deadlock ended in December 2003, when Musharraf made a deal with the
Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal party, an alliance of Islamist radicals with known links to
Bin Laden agreeing to leave the army by
December 31,
2004. He subsequently refused to keep his promise. With that party's support, pro-Musharraf legislators were able to muster the two-thirds
supermajority required to pass the
Seventeenth Amendment to the Constitution of Pakistan Seventeenth Amendment, which retroactively legalized Musharraf's 1999 coup and many of his decrees.
Electoral College victory
In a
vote of confidence on
January 1 2004, Musharraf won 658 out of 1,170 votes in the
Electoral College of Pakistan, and according to Article 41(8) of the
Constitution of Pakistan, was "deemed to be elected" to the office of President until October 2007.
After September 11, 2001 attacks September 11, 2001
Support for the War on Terror
Following the
September 11,
2001 terrorist attacks in the United States, Musharraf sided with the United States against the Taliban government in Afghanistan, after an ultimatum by the United States. Musharraf agreed to give the United States the use of three airbases for
Operation Enduring Freedom. Secretary of State Colin Powell and other administration officials met with Musharraf. Musharraf's reversal of policy and help to the U.S. military was necessary in the U.S. bombing that rapidly overcame the Taliban regime.
Tensions with India
On
December 13,
2001, a group of terrorists
attacked India's Parliament with bombs and guns. India, blaming Pakistan for the attack, mobilized for a potential war. Musharraf rejected as preposterous the claim that Pakistan had anything to do with the attacks.
Intense pressure from Washington followed. The Washington Post (Jim Hoagland,
January 17) said that "the United States extracted promises from
Gen. Musharraf that Pakistan's intelligence service and army will
cease giving food, weapons and other logistical help to infiltrators
who carry out terrorist raids into India and Indian Kashmir. The army will no longer provide mortar fire to cover the terrorists, who have been cut adrift by Musharraf."
Denouncing extremism
On
January 12,
2002, Musharraf gave a landmark speech against Islamic extremism.
Musharraf unequivocally condemned all acts of terrorism, including those carried out in the
name of freeing Kashmir's Muslim majority from Indian rule. He also
pledged to combat Islamic extremism and lawlessness within Pakistan
itself. However, the speech was not followed by concrete action. While certain Islamic parties were banned, they quickly changed their name and continued their activities. The Pakistani Government has ignored them for the most part, leading to considerable cynicism regarding Musharrafs statements in both Afghanistan and India.
Dual-office controversy
A pro-Musharraf party, the
PML-Q, won a
plurality in the elections of October 2002, and formed a majority coalition with independents and allies such as the
MQM. Nevertheless, the opposition parties effectively deadlocked the National Assembly, refusing to accept the legitimacy of Musharraf's authority. In December 2003, as part of a compromise with the main Islamist opposition group, the
Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal, an alliance of Islamist radicals including the Jammat Islami whose leaders have known links to
Bin Laden, General Musharraf said he would step down as Army Chief by
January 1 2005. He again did not honour his promise. In return, the MMA agreed to support a constitutional amendment that would retroactively legalize Musharraf's coup, and restore some formal
checks and balances to Pakistan's system of government.
In late 2004, however, pro-Musharraf legislators passed a bill allowing Musharraf to keep both offices, and Musharraf announced that he intended to hold on to both.
Views and perceptions of Musharraf
Image of a moderate leader
Image:Un musharraf.jpg 300px|thumb|General Pervez Musharraf, President and Chief Executive of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, addressing the [[UN General Assembly on
November 10,
2001]]
Musharraf is considered a moderate leader by
Western world Western governments. Many believe that Musharraf is sincere in his desire to bridge the
Islamic and Western worlds and has previously spoken strongly against the idea of the inevitability of a 'clash of civilisations' between them. Furthermore, he has coined the phrase of "Enlightened Moderation" and is believed to be an ardent promulgator of the same. Musharraf's emotional ties to the
United States may be conjectured to be significant since at least two close members of his family live there: his brother, a doctor, lives near
Chicago, Illinois Chicago,
Illinois and his son, who lives in
Boston, Massachusetts Boston,
Massachusetts. Musharraf's son, Bilal runs a venture funded high-tech startup in Boston. Musharraf's only other child, a daughter, is a graduate of the National College of Arts in Lahore and is an
architect. Musharraf's elder brother, who was a
Rhodes Scholarship Rhodes Scholar at Oxford, was a CSP officer in the Government of Pakistan prior to retiring from the
International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) in Rome, Italy.
Musharraf's views considered relatively liberal
Musharraf was raised in a family that is considered liberal by Pakistani standards. The women of the family are unsequestered and seen and photographed in public without veils. His mother worked for the
International Labour Organization ILO and was friends with well-known Pakistani liberals. His daughter is an architect.
Shortly after coming to power, and on numerous occasions afterwards, Musharraf expressed admiration for the secularist reformer of
Turkey,
Kemal Atatürk, outraging religious radicals in the country. However in Parliament he was in alliance with the
Majil Amal an Islamist alliance whose leaders still publicly support the Taliban regime.
At the same time, the conduct and procedure of national elections in Pakistan has been criticised by Human Rights groups within Pakistan, including the world renowned human rights activist,
Asma Jehangir.
Furthermore, Musharraf was initially promoted in the Pakistani Army based on his hardline religious affiliation to the Deoband school. This and his ties to hardline Islamic groups are often held out as a counterpoint to claims of liberalism.
Partner in the War on Terror
Image:Mushbush.jpg thumb|300px|Musharraf with [[United States President
George W. Bush]]
Since his involvement as a senior officer of Pakistan's special forces during the
Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, Musharraf has had excellent personal relations with several sections of the US security establishment.
It is widely believed that Musharraf was coerced by the United States into turning his back on his former allies-the Taliban government of Afghanistan. Certainly his speeches on national television expressed his belief that he 'had no choice' but to act in unison with the United States.
Musharraf's support for the
United States USA was indispensable in defeating the
Taliban in
Afghanistan with the ease that it was routed. This was done after his swift and strategically sound decision to cease Pakistan's long-running support of the Taliban. Pakistan cut the Taliban's oil and supply lines, provided intelligence and acted as a logistics support area for
Operation Enduring Freedom. It has also allowed US forces to operate inside Pakistan and Pakistani forces especially the military controlled Inter Services Agency have been implicated in the use of torture on suspected militants. Musharraf has also launched a major military offensive in the tribal region of Wana, displacing many resident families in the hunt for terrorists and has caused a national insurgency movement made up of disaffected militants and former residents of Wana whose homes were demolished by the army in its heavy bombing campaign.
Musharraf speaks fluent English and has given many interviews and speeches on various US and European TV channels and other media. He is also known for giving contrasting views in his interviews. He has spoken at
think tank think tanks such as the
RAND RAND Corporation in
Santa Monica, California, in
June 2003. His support for the US-led War on Terror has been a cause for dislike by some right-wing Islamic fundamentalist parties in Pakistan. The US's image in Pakistan has suffered ostensibly after the
2003 invasion of Iraq war in
Iraq without a
UN resolution. Musharraf has bluntly refused to send any Pakistani troops to Iraq without a UN resolution.
Assassination attempts
On
December 14,
2003, General Musharraf survived an
assassination attempt when a powerful bomb went off minutes after his highly-guarded
convoy crossed a bridge in
Rawalpindi. It was the third such attempt during his four-year rule. 11 days later, on
December 25, 2003, two
Suicide bombing suicide bombers tried to assassinate Musharraf, but their
car bombs failed to kill the president; 16 others nearby died instead. Musharraf escaped with only a cracked windscreen on his car. It has been reported that
Amjad Hussain Farooqi is suspected of being the mastermind behind these attempts, and there was an extensive manhunt for him, ending with Farooqi's death.
Elections during Musharraf's administration
On
12 May 2000, the
Supreme Court of Pakistan ordered Musharraf to hold national elections by
12 October 2002, Elections for local governments took place in 2001. Elections for the national and provincial legislatures were held in October 2002, with no party winning a majority. In
November 2002, Musharraf handed over certain powers to the newly elected
Parliament of Pakistan Parliament. The
National Assembly of Pakistan National Assembly elected
Mir Zafarullah Khan Jamali as
Prime Minister of Pakistan, who in turn appointed his own cabinet.
On
January 1,
2004 Musharraf won a
confidence vote in the
Electoral College of Pakistan, consisting of both houses of
Parliament and the four provincial assemblies which are dominated by the landed elite of the country, most of whom have been given governmental posts under Musharraf. Musharraf received 658 out of 1170 votes, a 56% majority, but many opposition and
Islamic members of parliament walked out to protest the vote. As a result of this vote, according to Article 41(8) of the
Constitution of Pakistan, Musharraf was "deemed to be elected" to the office of President. His term now extends to 2007.
Prime Minister Jamali resigned on
26 June 2004. His resignation is widely believed to be on the command of General Pervez Musharraf. Jamali, in the first place was appointed by Musharraf, who controls the PML(Q). He formed PML(Q) by horsetrading with different parties (largerly the PML(N) and the PPPP. Most of the ministers of the cabinet were senior members of other parties, who joined PML(Q) after the elections just because Musharraf promised them important offices in the government. In the place of Jamali, Musharraf appointed Shaukat Aziz, a former Vice President of
Citibank and head of ''Citibank Private Banking'' as the new prime minister. Shaukat Aziz who is basically not a politician merely looks over the government on the orders of General Pervez Musharraf. The new government is mostly supportive of Musharraf, who remaines the President and Head of State in the new government. Musharraf continues to be the active executive of Pakistan, especially in foreign affairs. Although whether he stays the president after he gives up the post of Chief of Army staff is still to be seen.
Nuclear proliferation
Recently, Musharraf has come under fire in the West after the disclosure of
nuclear proliferation by Dr.
Abdul Qadeer Khan, the
metallurgy metallurgist known as the father of Pakistan's bomb. Musharraf has denied knowledge of or participation by Pakistan's government or army in this proliferation despite deep domestic criticism for singularly vilifying Khan, a national hero. Musharraf continues to enjoy strong support of the
White House and
United States Secretary of Defense Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld. AQ Khan has been pardoned in exchange for cooperation in the investigation of his nuclear-proliferation network. The fate of those who were found to have conspired with Khan is yet to be decided.
Image:mushvaj.jpg thumb|300px|Musharraf with [[Atal Behari Vajpayee, former
Prime Minister of India]]
Peace overtures with India
Musharraf was Chief of Army Staff at the time of Pakistani incursions into the Indian-held disputed territory of
Kashmir (
Kargil sector), in the summer of 1999. After suffering many reverses, the Pakistani Army was ordered to retreat resulting in a defeat. Some reports suggest that Musharraf retreated after huge pressure on the then Pakistani Prime Minister
Nawaz Sharif from the American President, who feared the conflict could turn into a nuclear catastrophe. However in a recent book co authored by ex-
CENTCOM Commander in Chief,
Anthony Zinni and
Tom Clancy, the former alleges that Musharraf was the one who pushed Sharif to withdraw the Pakistani troops after being caught in a losing scenario.{{ref.html">Benazir Bhutto in an interview to a leading
daily.html">Newspaper|daily, where he had supposedly boasted that "he would hoist the
Flag of Pakistan atop the
Srinagar Assembly" if his plan was executed {{ref.html">Lahore Declaration
Lahore Peace Summit earlier that year, Musharraf was viewed with mistrust in India.
In the middle of 2004, Musharraf began a series of talks with India to solve the
Kashmir dispute. Both
India and
Pakistan have the tactical capability to launch nuclear strikes on every single city within each others' borders. The two countries are continuing to aggressively increase their nuclear capabilities by actively producing even more nuclear weapons and perfecting their missile technologies by routinely conducting tests of ever more sophisticated missiles.
Pakistan has publicly stated that it reserves the right to 'exercise its nuclear option' in a large scale war with India. On the other hand India has a 'no first nuclear strike' policy enshrined in its nuclear doctrine. In response Musharraf has instead offered a "no war pact" to India, which India has refused.
Recent developments
He denied Mukhtaran Mai, a Pakistani rape victim, the right to travel abroad until pressured to do so. He has also refused to go after the rapists of Dr Shazia, a senior military officer who was allegedly raped by relatives of Musharraf's peers in the army.
Another testing time for his government was a massive earthquake that raked havoc mainly in northern Pakistan. The government has been widely criticised by people both home and abroad for the lack of preparation, however it united people from across Pakistan with government in providing post quake relief. The relief efforts are continuing and so far $5.9 billion has been pledged by the international community, a combination of grants and loans. Of the grants, as of
29 December 2005 only about $80 million of a pledged $2.3 billion has materialised. However the quake still did not prove successful to bridge the widening gap between government and opposition parties who still tried to use this catastrophe for hostile criticism of each other.
He is also facing huge opposition to register
Madrasas (Religious Schools) by his Government.
He is trying to establish better ties with
Israel, despite harsh criticism from the Pakistani political spectrum and the population.
{{start box}}
{{succession box | before = General
Jehangir Karamat.html">:Category:Chiefs of Army Staff, Pakistan
Chiefs of Army Staff, Pakistan|years=| after = —}}
{{incumbent succession box|
title=
President of Pakistan|
start=
June 20 2001|
before=
Muhammad Rafiq Tarar|
}}
{{end box}}
Notes
{{note|Book}} {{cite book | author=Tom Clancy, Gen. Tony Zinni (Retd) and Tony Koltz | title=Battle Ready | publisher=Grosset & Dunlap | year=2004 | id=ISBN 0399151761}}
{{note|Book2}} {{cite book | author=Hassan Abbas | title=Pakistan's Drift Into Extremism: Allah, the Army, and America's War on Terror | publisher=M.E. Sharpe | year=2004 | id=ISBN 0765614979}}
{{note|Book3}} {{cite book | author=Stephen Cohen | title=The Idea of Pakistan | publisher=The Brookings Institution | year=2004 | id=ISBN 0815715021}}
{{note|Bhutto}} [http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=story_2-7-2003_pg7_19 Musharraf advised against Kargil, says Benazir]
See also
*
List of national leaders
*
Pakistan
*
Politics of Pakistan
*
President of Pakistan
*
Line of Succession to President of Pakistan
External links
;Official websites
-
Official presidential website
-
Official Repository of Presidential Speeches
;Biographies and Profiles
-
Biography on storyofpakistan.com
-
Time Magazine Cover Story on Musharraf
-
Profile in 2001 by the
BBC
-
''President Musharraf'' Biography,
25 December 2003 on the BBC
-
Profile in September 2004 by the BBC
-
pervez.musharraf.net Unofficial biography of Pervez Musharraf.
;Articles
-
A Plea for Enlightened Moderation, by Pervez Musharraf - Washington Post opinion piece
;Interviews
-
The Telegraph, United Kingdom,
20 June 2004]
-
Time magazine, United States. 25 September 2005
-
Musharraf tells Washington Post, "There is no milk and honey flowing after you get these two people.", referring to Osama and Zawahiri and that military might alone cannot defeat terrorism,
29 January 2006
;1999 coup Statement
-
President Clinton's statement regarding the 1999 coup
;Referendum
-
referendum report
-
BBC report on referendum
-
Speech on national TV, in which Musharraf apologizes for "improper" voting in the referendum "''.. at lower level due to unnecessary enthusiasm and carelessness, inefficiency and ignorance there might have been some improper case of voting in some areas. If this is true I regret it from the core of my heart. I feel sad and sorry for it,''" said Musharraf.
;Electoral college vote
-
Pakistan Gives Musharraf Confidence Vote as President; New York Times; January 1] [[2004]
;Surveys
-
Gallup survey
-
Report by Washington-based Pew Research Center
Category:1943 births Musharraf, Pervez
Category:Chiefs of Army Staff, Pakistan Musharraf, Pervez
Category:Current national leaders Musharraf, Pervez
Category:Leaders by coup Musharraf, Pervez
Category:Pakistani people Musharraf, Pervez
Category:Pakistani politicians Musharraf, Pervez
Category:Presidents of Pakistan Musharraf, Pervez
Category:Politics of Pakistan Musharraf, Pervez
Category:Living people Musharraf, Pervez
Category:FC College alumni Musharraf, Pervez
ar:برÙ?يز مشرÙ?
de:Pervez Musharraf
et:Pervez Musharraf
es:Pervez Musharraf
fr:Pervez Musharraf
gl:Pervez Musharraf - پرويز مشرÙ?
hi:परवेज़ म�शर�रफ़
id:Pervez Musharraf
he:פרבז מוש×?רף
nl:Pervez Musharraf
ja:パルヴェーズ・ムシャラフ
no:Pervez Musharraf
nn:Pervez Musharraf
pl:Pervez Musharraf
pt:Pervez Musharraf
ru:Мушарраф, Первез
sa:परवेज़ म�शर�रफ़
fi:Pervez Musharraf
sv:Pervez Musharraf
tr:Pervez Müşerref
ur:پرويز مشرÙ?
*** Shopping-Tip: Pervez Musharraf
