Musharraf overruled two Corps Commanders

By Atul Aneja

NEW DELHI, JUNE 21. The Pakistan President, Gen. Pervez Musharraf, overruled two of his key Corps Commanders over engaging India in talks and over assuming the mantle of Presidency.

According to highly-placed sources, Lt. Gen. Mohammad Aziz, Commander of the Lahore-based 4 Corps, had aired his reservations on holding talks with India during the meeting of Corps Commanders earlier this month. On his part, the Deputy Chief of Army Staff, Lt. Gen. Muzaffar Hussein Usmani, found it difficult to endorse Gen. Musharraf's decision to elevate himself to the post of President.

However, the disposition of the two Generals is not being interpreted here as an expression of dissent. On the contrary, the senior officers till now have been the Chief Executive's close confidants. In fact, Lt. Gen. Usmani almost single-handedly assured the success of the military coup by ensuring that Gen. Musharraf's plane, which had taken off from Colombo, landed safely in Karachi.

Lt. Gen. Mohammad Aziz was Gen. Musharraf's Chief of General Staff and handled the Kargil operations. As part of the General's inner circle, both Commanders are entitled to air their views freely and frankly.

In the absence of a civilian government, the Corps Commanders form the most powerful decision-making body in the Pakistani establishment. The Commander of the Rawalpindi-based 10 Corps, Lt. Gen. Jamshed Gulzar Kiyani, is also a key figure in the decision-making circle. The Line of Control (LoC) lies within his jurisdiction as the 10 Corps is the ``holding Corps'' to tackle an Indian thrust in the zone.

Sources pointed out that during the conference, Gen. Musharraf expressed the view that there could be no more delay in addressing the challenge posed by religious extremists. The tension between some pan-Islamic groups and the political establishment appears to be on the rise. In fact, the Lashkar-e- Taiba has publicly denounced the proposed talks, while the Jamaat-e-Islami has questioned Gen. Musharraf's locus standi in engaging his Indian interlocutors.

The Corps Commanders' meeting also saw a discussion on India's military modernisation and hardware induction, such as the T-90 tanks and the SU-30 aircraft. The meeting also analysed India's recent desert military exercises ``Purna Vijay''.

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