Darling of the West

Sridhar Krishnaswami and Hasan Suroor

FROM being a nation shunned to a ``frontline'' ally and a coveted guest at the high table in Downing Street, and at Waldorf Astoria across the Atlantic... the speed with which the Pakistan President, Gen. Pervez Musharraf, has gained political legitimacy in Washington and London in the weeks following the September 11 outrage must have initially surprised the General himself. But having realised the immediate importance of his new ``status'' he is clearly making the best of it, judging from his recent visits to Britain and the United States.

Pre-September 11, the very mention of Pakistan and its military leader caused titters in the Anglo-U.S. establishment and not a day passed when Gen. Musharraf was not reminded that he was on probation for having derailed democracy in his country. Already suspended from the councils of the Commonwealth, Pakistan faced the prospect of being expelled from the Commonwealth itself if he did not come up with a credible roadmap for a return to democracy. But all this changed after terrorists, allegedly linked to Osama bin Laden and his Pakistan-supported Taliban hosts, struck in New York and Washington.

While India naively believed that the West's high-profile and aggressive campaign against international terrorism would put pressure on Islamabad with regard to the miltancy in Jammu and Kashmir, the U.S. President, Mr. George W. Bush, and the British Prime Minister, Mr. Tony Blair, had their own ideas. Apart from Pakistan's strategic geographical importance, here was a country which had created and nurtured the Taliban and was best placed to work on it. And, Mr. Bush and Mr. Blair reckoned that with a bit of arm-twisting and in return for economic and political incentives Gen. Musharraf could be ``persuaded'' to dirty his hands. And he did. The reward was red-carpet treatment in London, and later in New York where he was also assured of economic goodies. In both places, his views on a post-Taliban arrangement in Afghanistan and his country's other related concerns were heard out.

Even before he set foot in New York for his important session with Mr. Bush, there was no question that the Pakistani leader would walk away with all he was looking for, political and economic. Barely three months ago scorn was being heaped on Pakistan, on just about anything, including on the democracy front. Now Pakistan is the ``frontline'' state, seen as the ``lynchpin'' of American policies in Central Asia, and the Bush administration is bending over backwards to humour the General. If the Bush-Musharraf meeting and dinner on November 10 was anything to go by, it was not just confined to atmospherics, or Afghanistan.

Gen. Musharraf did not get very far on Kashmir and Mr. Bush was not expected to deviate from what has been carefully laid out over the last several years. And the American President successfully deflected the two questions relating to the United Nations Security Council Resolution on Kashmir and the notion of India as a state sponsor of terrorism in Kashmir.

It was really on the economic front that Gen. Musharraf walked away quite content. Mr. Bush, looking for a long-term policy of engagement with Islamabad, upped the ante to $1 billion which in many quarters is just seen as a beginning. The promise of defence cooperation aside, what must have pleased the visiting Pakistani leader was Mr. Bush's assurance that the U.S. will work with major international financial institutions and donor nations on behalf of Islamabad - not a bad idea given the country's debt at around $38 billion.

In Britain, the gains were less tangible, but being received and feted at Downing Street amid new media interest in the ``General'' and his country had a political symbolism that went beyond any material incentive. It signalled Pakistan's return to the western fraternity which had lately started to shun it. Clearly, Gen. Musharraf was content with the attention he got during his one-day visit, with the political establishment and the media scrambling to praise him for his ``courage'' and ``bravery'' in supporting the international coalition against his own erstwhile proteges despite enormous domestic pressure to stay away from the West's ``war on Islam.'' In comparison, Mr. Atal Behari Vajpayee's visit three days later went almost unnoticed - an indication of who is the greater priority for a self-centred West at this point of time.

Gen. Musharraf's demand for cessation of bombing during Ramadan was politely declined by Mr. Blair, but the latter did acknowledge Muslim sensitivities on the issue - as indeed he acknowledged Pakistan's role as a key ally. Pakistan was good international currency again - at least for now. Tomorrow will be another day.

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