Musharraf has determination, says mother

RAWALPINDI, JULY 10. The Pakistan President, Gen. Pervez Musharraf, set to meet the Prime Minister, Mr. Atal Behari Vajpayee, this weekend for crucial talks on Kashmir, will pursue his goal of peace with determination, his mother has said.

``Pervez has determination. Whatever he wants to do, he must do it,'' the 80-year-old Zarreen Musharraf told Reuters television in an interview yesterday.

``He wants to have peace. He wants to help Kashmiri people. They are our brothers...they are fighting for freedom,'' said Ms. Zarreen, who earlier worked for the International Labour Organisation.

Ms. Zarreen, who has two other sons, said Gen. Musharraf never had political aspirations although he was always keen on joining the military.

His leadership qualities were visible even when he was a boy. ``He was never in politics and never dreamt of being in politics. Politics was thrust on him,'' she said.

Gen. Musharraf was born in Delhi on August 11, 1943 and lived there until the family moved to Karachi on August 13, 1947, a day before the bloody partition.During his trip to New Delhi, Gen. Musharraf is expected to visit his birthplace - a traditional Indian mansion called Naharwali Haveli which was sold by his grandfather in 1946.

Ms. Zarreen described Gen. Musharraf as an average student with many friends and who was always busy in sports. ``Pervez was not a very good student, he was average because he was always interested in sports. He wanted to play and he was a leader. He had so many friends,'' she said.

Ms. Zarreen recalls a day when Gen. Pervez and his elder brother, Mr. Javed, fought bitterly over how a moving train produced sound.

``They were fighting like anything.... they fought so much that neighbours also saw them and we were all laughing like mad,'' Ms. Zarreen said.

- Reuters

Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Section  : International
Previous : Israel blames everyone else for abduction
Next     : 'U.S.-India military ties on upward trend'