Can Musharraf win back Pakistan?

[SpArK]

Can Musharraf win back Pakistan?​

Pakistan's ex-president Pervez Musharraf plans to return from exile with a new political party. Will Pakistanis welcome him?​

He is being hailed as Pakistan's big political comeback. The only trouble is, ex-dictator Pervez Musharraf hasn't actually come back yet. He's still residing in self-imposed exile in London but has managed to land himself in the media spotlight following the official launch of his political party earlier this month.

In the span of a few days he has been interviewed by several major media outlets including India's NDTV, the German magazine Der Spiegel and on ABC with Christiane Amanpour.

He even used the opportunity of his launch to apologise for some past errors. "Human beings make mistakes," said the 67-year-old former general, who plans to return home before the next elections.

But the question is, has he learned anything from past mistakes? Scratch beneath the surface and nothing much has changed beyond his usual nationalistic jingoism and sloganeering of "Pakistan first" – a phrase he likes to use often. In fact, over certain key foreign policy issues his stance is deeply hawkish.

On Afghanistan, for instance, while the majority of people in Europe and the United States now favour bringing troops home, Musharraf is pushing for more war. He told the BBC Radio 4 Today programme: "There is a failure of leadership. Nobody is educating the people who are demanding their soldiers [should] come back that this would be the worst decision. This will be a blunder."

Yet his gung-ho performance shouldn't surprise anyone. This is person who, in an interview with the Washington Post when he was in power, said of gang-**** victim Mukhtar Mai: "You must understand the environment in Pakistan. This has become a moneymaking concern. A lot of people say if you want to go abroad and get a visa for Canada or citizenship and be a millionaire, get yourself raped."

Musharraf later backtracked and said he was not "so silly and stupid" as to make such comments. To demonstrate that this was a lie, the Washington Post subsequently released the audio of the interview on its website.

But he isn't always so blunt in interviews. Last week when Amanpour interviewed Musharraf, an important issue was raised when she asked him why so many Pakistanis have an unfavourable view of the United States in spite of the billions of dollars being poured in. "Yes those are the ground realities," he said. "This is because of what they have suffered historically and what is going on. And lack of understanding on both sides of the ground realities."

His answer conveniently missed one crucial point. It's a point which neither the leaders of the US nor Pakistan seem prepared to hear: that the more the US pours money into the hands of Pakistan's corrupt rulers, the more empowered anti-democratic forces in the country have become. So there is almost an inverse relationship between foreign aid to the government and the battle for hearts and minds.

Meanwhile, back home, news of Musharraf's return to politics has led to an alarming new development. Talal Bugti, chief of the Jamhoori Watan party, has announced a bounty of 1bn rupees ($11.6m) for Musharraf in connection with "crimes against humanity". He accuses the former dictator over the murder of his father, the late Baloch leader Nawab Akbar Bugti, and has called for the government to use Interpol to bring the former dictator back to face the charges against him.

With many enemies eager to settle old scores, the question is, who exactly is supporting Musharraf? Here is a hint from the man himself. "I launched my Facebook page eight months ago," Musharraf told Der Spiegel last week. "Today I have more than 315,000 fans." In fact, since he did that interview the number has jumped to more than 325,000 – an impressive feat.

Unfortunately the majority of people in Pakistan don't have Facebook. They don't even have access to the internet.

Syed Hamad Ali

Can Musharraf win back Pakistan? | Syed Hamad Ali | Comment is free | guardian.co.uk

 

[fatman17]

the issue with musharraf is that his supporters are mainly in the urban / city areas of the country. according to one poll (taken in 2008) musharraf had a popularity rating of ~25%. can he get this urbanites to actually vote for him in a election? - that is the main issue as city slickers or the chattering classes as they are known, seldom vote!!!

IMO he is a long-shot!!

 

[moha199]

i guess he can, his popularity is going up, indeed he has too much dirt thrown at him by his opponents which will take some time.

 

[Son of Mountains]

Musharaf, no doubt was 1000 times better than Zard-aari (Yellow saw cutting Pakistan).....he had long terms developmental plans no doubt. But Choudry brothers ruined him n his policies.
This time, he is not liked by our public.......i never support him. My family hates him. I think majority of common pakistanis dislike him.
However, it is delicious for many people, if Musharaf comes back in pakistan and hanged in a main chowk from Court orders for what sins he did.

 

[Fasih Khan]

All our Support for our Leader Insha' Allah.

 

[silent hill]

actually the corrupt people take advantage of govt seat, do maximum corruption, and when its time for accountablility they escape abroad, happens with all politicians, mush is no except, but he would be rather better than atleast zerdari, but i dont really trust this guy, just appreciative of his abilities which zardaris dont have.. and i also dont like his ideals, he wants to change pakistan from an islamic country to a country like kemalist country

more corrupt better>> most corrupt

 

[Fasih Khan]

he wants to change pakistan from an islamic country to a country like kemalist country

Oh Really ... Where have you heared this story from ?

 

[Hyde]

Musharraf will be able to win few seats from Sindh & Punjab and overall will be able to grab a lot more power than Imran Khan. But forget about winning his election campaigns by outclassing other major parties like PPP, PML-N and perhaps MQM.

Unfortunately a large % of Pakistan, where they have nuetral opinion on other parties.; hates Musharraf. I see his political career expanding after 5-10 years (at least twice the elections are held in Pakistan) but for now his political movement will remain limited due to ever-growing anger of the public.

I would personally vote him anyway, if I have to choose between Musharraf, Nawaz, Zardari or Altaf Hussain

 

[MohammadHaqueCA]

Can Musharraf win back Pakistan?​

Pakistan's ex-president Pervez Musharraf plans to return from exile with a new political party. Will Pakistanis welcome him?​

He is being hailed as Pakistan's big political comeback. The only trouble is, ex-dictator Pervez Musharraf hasn't actually come back yet. He's still residing in self-imposed exile in London but has managed to land himself in the media spotlight following the official launch of his political party earlier this month.

In the span of a few days he has been interviewed by several major media outlets including India's NDTV, the German magazine Der Spiegel and on ABC with Christiane Amanpour.

He even used the opportunity of his launch to apologise for some past errors. "Human beings make mistakes," said the 67-year-old former general, who plans to return home before the next elections.

But the question is, has he learned anything from past mistakes? Scratch beneath the surface and nothing much has changed beyond his usual nationalistic jingoism and sloganeering of "Pakistan first" – a phrase he likes to use often. In fact, over certain key foreign policy issues his stance is deeply hawkish.

On Afghanistan, for instance, while the majority of people in Europe and the United States now favour bringing troops home, Musharraf is pushing for more war. He told the BBC Radio 4 Today programme: "There is a failure of leadership. Nobody is educating the people who are demanding their soldiers [should] come back that this would be the worst decision. This will be a blunder."

Yet his gung-ho performance shouldn't surprise anyone. This is person who, in an interview with the Washington Post when he was in power, said of gang-**** victim Mukhtar Mai: "You must understand the environment in Pakistan. This has become a moneymaking concern. A lot of people say if you want to go abroad and get a visa for Canada or citizenship and be a millionaire, get yourself raped."

Musharraf later backtracked and said he was not "so silly and stupid" as to make such comments. To demonstrate that this was a lie, the Washington Post subsequently released the audio of the interview on its website.

But he isn't always so blunt in interviews. Last week when Amanpour interviewed Musharraf, an important issue was raised when she asked him why so many Pakistanis have an unfavourable view of the United States in spite of the billions of dollars being poured in. "Yes those are the ground realities," he said. "This is because of what they have suffered historically and what is going on. And lack of understanding on both sides of the ground realities."

His answer conveniently missed one crucial point. It's a point which neither the leaders of the US nor Pakistan seem prepared to hear: that the more the US pours money into the hands of Pakistan's corrupt rulers, the more empowered anti-democratic forces in the country have become. So there is almost an inverse relationship between foreign aid to the government and the battle for hearts and minds.

Meanwhile, back home, news of Musharraf's return to politics has led to an alarming new development. Talal Bugti, chief of the Jamhoori Watan party, has announced a bounty of 1bn rupees ($11.6m) for Musharraf in connection with "crimes against humanity". He accuses the former dictator over the murder of his father, the late Baloch leader Nawab Akbar Bugti, and has called for the government to use Interpol to bring the former dictator back to face the charges against him.

With many enemies eager to settle old scores, the question is, who exactly is supporting Musharraf? Here is a hint from the man himself. "I launched my Facebook page eight months ago," Musharraf told Der Spiegel last week. "Today I have more than 315,000 fans." In fact, since he did that interview the number has jumped to more than 325,000 – an impressive feat.

Unfortunately the majority of people in Pakistan don't have Facebook. They don't even have access to the internet.

Syed Hamad Ali

Can Musharraf win back Pakistan? | Syed Hamad Ali | Comment is free | guardian.co.uk

Mush will NEVER be successful as a politician. He is living under a hallucinated impression that people like him. The only seat that is secure for him to win is the Chitral NA seat due to Lowari Tunnel; rest of the Pakistan will always prove to be a complete NO NO for him!

 

[Gazi]

If Musharraf is able to do that then it would be a biggest dent to MQM and PTI both. Although Currently Musharraf is the only person that is Capable of Leading a country because he is Experienced as well as well versed in Handling Bureaucrats and their Technical kind of corruptions in the system. He would also have lot of Military Support with him because of his Understanding of how much Military is Important for Pakistan but the Downside would be Media as media would try everything they got against him because they know that Musharraf is not like other Politicians who can be BLACKMAILED Easily and he can Present his Opinions with better Clarity compare to Politicians in Pakistan.

 

[Sugarcane]

Chala howa kartoos doobara nahi chalta.

 

[BetterPakistan]

I believe he can win back Packistan but not in majority because Shark IK is sitting here

 

[Shoaib Rathore]

musharaf have been r ejected long ago look where is pml q right now.

 

[batmannow]

Can Musharraf win back Pakistan?​

Pakistan's ex-president Pervez Musharraf plans to return from exile with a new political party. Will Pakistanis welcome him?​

He is being hailed as Pakistan's big political comeback. The only trouble is, ex-dictator Pervez Musharraf hasn't actually come back yet. He's still residing in self-imposed exile in London but has managed to land himself in the media spotlight following the official launch of his political party earlier this month.

In the span of a few days he has been interviewed by several major media outlets including India's NDTV, the German magazine Der Spiegel and on ABC with Christiane Amanpour.

He even used the opportunity of his launch to apologise for some past errors. "Human beings make mistakes," said the 67-year-old former general, who plans to return home before the next elections.

But the question is, has he learned anything from past mistakes? Scratch beneath the surface and nothing much has changed beyond his usual nationalistic jingoism and sloganeering of "Pakistan first" – a phrase he likes to use often. In fact, over certain key foreign policy issues his stance is deeply hawkish.

On Afghanistan, for instance, while the majority of people in Europe and the United States now favour bringing troops home, Musharraf is pushing for more war. He told the BBC Radio 4 Today programme: "There is a failure of leadership. Nobody is educating the people who are demanding their soldiers [should] come back that this would be the worst decision. This will be a blunder."

Yet his gung-ho performance shouldn't surprise anyone. This is person who, in an interview with the Washington Post when he was in power, said of gang-**** victim Mukhtar Mai: "You must understand the environment in Pakistan. This has become a moneymaking concern. A lot of people say if you want to go abroad and get a visa for Canada or citizenship and be a millionaire, get yourself raped."

Musharraf later backtracked and said he was not "so silly and stupid" as to make such comments. To demonstrate that this was a lie, the Washington Post subsequently released the audio of the interview on its website.

But he isn't always so blunt in interviews. Last week when Amanpour interviewed Musharraf, an important issue was raised when she asked him why so many Pakistanis have an unfavourable view of the United States in spite of the billions of dollars being poured in. "Yes those are the ground realities," he said. "This is because of what they have suffered historically and what is going on. And lack of understanding on both sides of the ground realities."

His answer conveniently missed one crucial point. It's a point which neither the leaders of the US nor Pakistan seem prepared to hear: that the more the US pours money into the hands of Pakistan's corrupt rulers, the more empowered anti-democratic forces in the country have become. So there is almost an inverse relationship between foreign aid to the government and the battle for hearts and minds.

Meanwhile, back home, news of Musharraf's return to politics has led to an alarming new development. Talal Bugti, chief of the Jamhoori Watan party, has announced a bounty of 1bn rupees ($11.6m) for Musharraf in connection with "crimes against humanity". He accuses the former dictator over the murder of his father, the late Baloch leader Nawab Akbar Bugti, and has called for the government to use Interpol to bring the former dictator back to face the charges against him.

With many enemies eager to settle old scores, the question is, who exactly is supporting Musharraf? Here is a hint from the man himself. "I launched my Facebook page eight months ago," Musharraf told Der Spiegel last week. "Today I have more than 315,000 fans." In fact, since he did that interview the number has jumped to more than 325,000 – an impressive feat.

Unfortunately the majority of people in Pakistan don't have Facebook. They don't even have access to the internet.

Syed Hamad Ali

Can Musharraf win back Pakistan? | Syed Hamad Ali | Comment is free | guardian.co.uk

He is back to Pakistan, utter logic behind this article, has lost it's point?

If Musharraf is able to do that then it would be a biggest dent to MQM and PTI both. Although Currently Musharraf is the only person that is Capable of Leading a country because he is Experienced as well as well versed in Handling Bureaucrats and their Technical kind of corruptions in the system. He would also have lot of Military Support with him because of his Understanding of how much Military is Important for Pakistan but the Downside would be Media as media would try everything they got against him because they know that Musharraf is not like other Politicians who can be BLACKMAILED Easily and he can Present his Opinions with better Clarity compare to Politicians in Pakistan.

Wait for few months, we have our most of politicians, product of military?
But this time, military has better choice in Musharraf, slowly but surly all these self fish political parties will be buried.

Musharraf will be able to win few seats from Sindh & Punjab and overall will be able to grab a lot more power than Imran Khan. But forget about winning his election campaigns by outclassing other major parties like PPP, PML-N and perhaps MQM.

Unfortunately a large % of Pakistan, where they have nuetral opinion on other parties.; hates Musharraf. I see his political career expanding after 5-10 years (at least twice the elections are held in Pakistan) but for now his political movement will remain limited due to ever-growing anger of the public.

I would personally vote him anyway, if I have to choose between Musharraf, Nawaz, Zardari or Altaf Hussain

only The terrorists & thier dirty misguided supporters hate him, burnt the common Pakistanis who were well off in his times.
They.think his times as heavens comparing after him & till now?

the issue with musharraf is that his supporters are mainly in the urban / city areas of the country. according to one poll (taken in 2008) musharraf had a popularity rating of ~25%. can he get this urbanites to actually vote for him in a election? - that is the main issue as city slickers or the chattering classes as they are known, seldom vote!!!

IMO he is a long-shot!!

IMO poll of 2008 isnt valid In 2015, & the only seat He won was from rural backward area of chitral, so your logic is wrong, it s just your dislikness.
But for Pakistanis & the military establishment of today, He is the only one who have every needed qualifications to lead the country.
& after PTI, s failure to take out NOORA govt, people's of Pakistan really are looking at him?

 

[Windjammer]

Chala howa kartoos doobara nahi chalta.

Yaara, NS ka tu dou teen martaba puss kar chuka hey, PM tu akhir fauji bandooq hey.