Thursday, October 19, 2006

General Musharraf - The "Crusader" who was 'Humiliated'


Our “Friendly Neighbourhood” – No, not Spiderman – General Musharraf has apparently expressed “Shock and Disbelief” (or something on similar lines) at something that our ex-Primo Vajpayee had said.

For one, according to the General, there is “Freedom Movement” in Kashmir, which is no where near the definitions of “Terrorism”. So, he would appreciate it if the world looked upon Pakistan as a country that actively encourages and supports a “Freedom Movement” in its neighbour’s territory, perhaps? If the International Community chose to call the slaughtering of people a Freedom Movement, Musharraf wouldn’t shy away from owning responsibility for all the “Martyr Camps” that operate from inside Pakistan. Musharraf only supports Freedom.

Talk of Freedom in Pakistan. When was the last time that there was any talk of elected Government in there? For someone who crept his way to the throne, who is a self-anointed “President”, and who keeps talking of “Free and Fair Elections” in Pakistan while clinging desperately to the chairs of Dictatorship, statements about “Freedom” are Blasphemy to the very concept!

But one has to admit – the General does have a weird sense of humour. “Musharraf in his book ‘In The Line Of Fire’ has also said that both he and Vajpayee had been "humiliated" at the Agra summit in 2001 "by someone above".” For someone who is such a hot seat, his sense of humour does deserve a huge round of applause. But it leaves one wondering, as to who could be “above” the “President” of Pakistan and the Prime Minister of India! We were taught at school that these are the top most positions in a Nation. So, who could possibly be “above” the Chiefs of two countries? Could it be the Secretary General of the United Nations? Was he referring, by any chance, to the “Ultimate President” George Bush? Or, was he talking of “Lord Almighty” Himself?

Well, one possibility could be this: Musharraf and Vajpayee must have completed their talks at Agra and must have been waiting for their private aircraft to arrive. The Pilot of the plane, while about to land to pick them up, must have had problems landing and must have taken off and done a sortie just when Musharraf expected the plane to land. And the pilot must have landed a few minutes later, perhaps. Quite justifiably, the General must have seen this as an act of defiance and humiliation by the Pilot (and this could also have brought him some old memories flooding in). So, that’s it - both he and Vajpayee were humiliated at the Agra summit in 2001 “by someone above”, the Pilot! Yeah, this sounds plausible.

One wonders why this story was not reported in the media. Perhaps, the General, so used to suppressing the media in his home town, must have done something to prevent this piece from getting into the media glare. After all, he had every right to reserve some surprises for his “Line of Fire”. Who would buy a book, otherwise?