Move to gain legitimacy

By Hasan Suroor

LONDON, JUNE 21. The Pakistani military ruler, Gen. Pervez Musharraf's decision to appoint himself as President is widely seen here as an attempt to gain political legitimacy ahead of next month's summit with the Prime Minister, Mr. Atal Behari Vajpayee. A widespread view is that Gen. Musharraf thinks that this would ``bolster'' his authority in his negotiations with India.

Compared to the strong official Foreign Office reaction, independent British commentators have been less critical of Gen. Musharraf's move, which, many believe, was wholly predictable. India's neutral reaction has not gone unnoticed and The Times underlined the fact that ``Indian officialdom was quick to acknowledge Gen. Musharraf's assumption of the presidency, and to reassure the new head of state that it would grant him appropriate treatment during his visit''.

While the paper termed the General's ``self- promotion'' as a step in the wrong direction, it said his explanation for doing so was ``not without merit'' in the context of the run-up to the Agra summit. ``Gen. Musharraf wants to have as much credibility as his interlocutor during the talks at Agra. Political analysts say that he can expect to be taken more seriously, as Pakistan's legitimate leader, as a result of being known by the title of President. Anything that Gen. Musharraf can do to ease tensions between Pakistan and India is to be welcomed,'' it commented editorially.

The Daily Telegraph also zeroed in on the timing of Gen. Musharraf's move and said although his ``self-elevation had been widely expected, the timing appears to be linked to the July 14- 16 Indian summit when the festering Kashmir dispute will be discussed''. Without directly commenting on India's reaction, it noted that the ``two leaders spoke by telephone on Wednesday and agreed not to increase the rhetoric.....in order to avoid spoiling the atmosphere before the talks.''

The Independent was equally certain that Gen. Musharraf's decision was a ``means of enhancing his authority ahead of the summit with India's Prime Minister...'' And, ditto, The Guardian which had no doubt that it was intended to ``raise his status for his summit meeting with the Indian Prime Minister.''

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