Daily Excelsior... Editorial

EDITORIAL

Indians get very angry at the world for not understanding her perspective with the perceptivity that it deserves. But do they themselves understand the issues the country is faced with especially those vis-a-vis Pakistan regarding Kashmir. How many 'visions' in India, for examine, understand the demographic and political make-up of this State? For most, and that includes the so-called Kashmir-experts, Kashmir is J&K and Jammu and Kashmir is Kashmir, when more than half the State is outside Kashmir. In fact, three-fourths of the State territory is comprised of Jammu and Ladakh and population-wise Kashmir forms a little less than just the half of the people of State. But so misinformed are the mandarins as well as the media-men that every mention of State is taken as a reference to Kashmir. So it is with Hurriyat. Hurriyat may be a 23-party conglomerate yet it is only a fringe influence in Kashmir. In Jammu and Ladakh they have neither any influence nor any presence. Their first formal office outside Kashmir valley was opened years after terrorists made it 'true representatives' of Kashmir. That office is still non-functional. Yes, Hurriyat is a non-entity in the rest of the State, and a minor force within ..more

A view point
The failed democracy

By R K Bharati
Why are we enamoured of sham of a democracy which we are told was the only way of governance. If the aping of western democracies suited our....more

Women inmates:
Prisoners of injustice

By G Ravindran Nair
Prisoners as a class are a harried lot and the plight of women prisoners across the country has to be seen to be believed......more

Something up the
sleeves of ISI

By K N Pandita
Groups of armed followers of two Pushtun warlords in the eastern province of Pakhtia in Afghanistan were locked in gun battles in and around Gardez for .....more

Paying for the past

By Irfan Husain
Rich and powerful States and individuals often get away with their crimes, while the weak and the poor usually get caught and punished......more

EDITORIAL

Don't pamper separatists!

Yes, Hurriyat is a non-entity in the rest of the State, and a minor force within the Valley itself. It has a larger than life national and international image though, courtesy Pakistan and Indian ignoramii! The later have been treating Hurriyat as a counterpart of the major political forces.... nay, as the major factor in the whole State. All their calculations including those of the 'interlocutors' on Kashmir (see, there is little appreciation of the non-Kashmir part even in the nomenclature!) are hinged on Hurriyat. In fact, they i.e. the Indians leaders as well as analysts and officials, have been virtually ignoring the rest of the State, even the ruling National conference, in their bid to chum up to Hurriyat people. At the very best the Hurriyat can be said to represent 10 or 12% of the State's people. And that presumes it has a near one-fourth part in Kashmir, which it simply does not have. The point is that Hurriyat is not a very great force, not a representative or influential force, nor a statewide force. Its greatness, even its coherence as well as the 'sway' comes courtesy the terrorists who consider it their over-ground cohort. Take that factor away and Hurriyat is left hanging in limbo. It can't stand a day if it were to oppose terrorists and Pakistan.

It may be good to talk to them to get them into the mainstream, get them to participate in the elections even development of the State, but pegging the State on Hurriyat is not only suicidal but vastly unjust to the mass of the people who have been opposing the Hurriyat scheme of anti-nationalism for the last decade or so. That includes the cadres of National Conference and Kashmiri Pandits within the Valley, the workers of BJP in hill districts of Jammu and other parties all over the State. The Hurriyat people have been non-challant to, if not actual accomplices in, all these killings. While they have been attending the chaharums of slain terrorist punctiliously they did not even condemn the killing of major Congress leader Aga Syed outrightly. But then, their sympathies with the terrorist gangs have been well known. The Hurriyat thing was brought into being by the terrorists in their hey days in early 1990s. Pakistan through feting it at its high commission in India and influence in other countries procured it media attention and acceptability. The Hurriyat ship was ready to sail in the interest of Pakistan. And it has been riding the national and international waves since. The rest has, unfortunately, been done by the Indian ignoramii, in misplaced faith.

Now, does that help the people of the State one bit? Not at all. The Hurriyat people have been playing in the hands of terrorists at all along, giving their actions political cover and justification, covering up their most indiscreet acts like the Wandhama and Chittisinghpora, when they were the first to put the blame on the security forces. They have highlight certain of public grievances over these years but only if it suited the designs of Pakistan and terrorists, in that order. As for peace, the record of Hurriyat has been dismal. It never offered to talk; till the WTC it was stubborn in its justification of the militancy and the militants. It, in fact, has spared no effort to sabotage every peace process. Thus then HM declared their 'Ceasefire' Hurriyat was the first to oppose it. Why, no body has ever clarified. It took Pakistan a fortnight to force the Pak-based higher leadership of Hizbul Mujahideen to retract offer, but Hurriyat had done it on the very day it was offered. When Prime Minister announced the Ramadan Ceasefire the Hurriyat just dismissed it. Qayuum Khan across the border welcomed this very 'bold initiative' of Indian Government, but not Hurriyat. They were ready to go to Pakistan on Indian Government expose, (why? for what?? for whom???) but endorse, the peace they never did.

The only time the Hurriyat has shown any 'positive' inclination was when Musharraf came visiting to Agra; they suspended their 'agitation' for the duration of the visit. Of course, they called for a bandh against the terrorists on Pak bidding. That almost sums up their proclivity for peace. Sixteen days in twelve years. They rest they have spent goading, supporting and succoring, even spreading, terrorism in the Valley. Today terrorism is a discredited thing. From the Hurriyat point of view it has also been shunned by Pakistan and its general. That has taken the 'base' out of Hurriyat edifice. It has also brought them to their weakest moment. And exposed them to the whole world. Yet India is seeking to give this anti-nationalism new lease of life by trying to bring it round with attention and presumably concessions. It is good to make them realize their fallacies, to make them become partners in peace but that should not be on their terms, not by meeting their demands. That would only justify their stands, which clearly were wrong, if not actually malicious. That would also be injust to the people who have been confronting them, opposing them and standing up against their demands and designs.

Indians must understand that Indian Negotiators, Indian intellectuals, Indian politicians and India's Kashmir experts too. There are no representatives there in Hurriyat but only windbags of Pakistan. They have been separatists there, and Indians cannot talk to separatist over the voice and interest of the Indian nationals. They must not. They must not undo the benefits of the war on terrorists by rewarding the cohorts of terrorism at this juncture when the whole world is resolved to fight the terrorism out along with its apologists, harbourers and backers.

A view point
The failed democracy

By R K Bharati

Why are we enamoured of sham of a democracy which we are told was the only way of governance. If the aping of western democracies suited our country, we would not need 'z' security for our leaders who would roam freely in our cities, towns and far flung villages, only a few decades earlier.

It seems that the soil of Asian countries is not suitable for western plant of democracy as it is alien to western morals and social order.

The only tribe that has been benefited by the new dispensation adopted after colonial rule, is the ugly politician. Upright leaders like Lal Bahadur Shastri unfortunately die young and those like Gulzari Lal Nanda are side lined by political bosses, and they have to live miserable lives in penury.

If our politicians were really indispensable their children would have been fighting the enemy at the borders. They would not be in expensive and elite schools like Doon, Oxford or those of USA, Germany and other western countries. How came all leaders are rich? Why all benefits go to them? Why their salaries and perks are doubled without a whimper? Why they get full pensionary benefits after 'ruling' the peer and down trodden for a brief period of five years? In contrast the employees have to resort to a long battle of strikes etc for confirmations, and pay rise. After a long time the government (run by these very politicians appoint commissions and when these commissions submit their reports, it gets further delayed in Administrative wings and when finally the reports get the cabinet nod, it is always the elite class (again close relatives of politicians) which gets maximum benefits while crumbs fall to general line staff. Then this enhancement is taken back by added taxes to line the pockets of the ugly politicians.

Thus this vicious circle goes on and on grinding the general public. We have come to a point where there is clear cleavage between the ruling eligarchy and the down trodden who have all along been in similar straits under colonial or autocratic rules. ?The politicians then, were fighting the colonial rulers in the name of these very down trodden people.

The bullet and the dagger of the militants is for the poor.

If any honest officer takes action against the terrorists the other wing of the politicians appears on the scene with so called human rights slogan. They do everything to defend the terrorists and their harbourers but never care to solace the victims.

One is tempted to ask why these very people ask for the heads of the attackers when their own relatives become the victims. (though once in a blue moon). Is there any nexus between the terrorists and these good smaritans, one cannot say. One would like to know how many close relatives of these HR walas were killed, raped or injured and even then these people did not demand 'stern' action and did not blame the police ? One would also like to ask what does constitute a 'stern action'?

One is tempted to quote from a recent article of Ratna Rajiah, published in Indian Express, New Delhi:''...It is easy to send off somebody else's son to war. It is easy to sacrifice's some one else's husband on the altar of Desh Bhakti.. And then think how willingly you are ready to go to war...''

Why no VIP seeks enlisting his own son in Army as a soldier? Why professional courses are for VIP's sons and daughters? Why all posh bungalows are for politicians alone? Why all security is for them and all the vital buildings are left without security as was reported recently on a TV channel. It was shown that even the Supreme Court building was left without sufficient security during nights.

If people have brought themselves to such a pass only in a few decades of independence, what will be their plight after a few more decades of practising this sham of democracy. All blame must go to unethical politicians who sideline the honest ones.

All we need is to open our eyes and accept the harsh reality that this type of democracy has failed us. It has paid dividends to clever politicians alone. It has allowed illiterate people to lord it over intellectuals and efficient and honest bureaucrats. The need is to scrap administrative caders which he have become an albetross round the neck of people. This class has been given legal safeguards to benefit politicians. In common parlance it is called 'politician-bureaucrat-criminal' nexus. Can any ordinary person meet a chief minister or a chief secretary for that matter? Then who are those who have free access to them? Who are those whose 'woes' the CM and secretaries know? Whose woes they remove? To break this nexus we need a new setup suited to our countries.

We need to scrap heavy security of politicians and ask them either to arrange their own security or quit politics because their security is a great drain on public exchequer. This security ''quarantine'' has alienated the ruling class from general masses. It has created a new feudal class of looters which cares only for its own benefits and fleeces the general public with ever new taxation. We have reached the point which Winston Churchill foresaw before independence: Every leaf of bread is new taxed for filling the coffers of the ruling class. This class enjoys itself as no autocrat did. If the ruling class were really patriotic why it does not ''tighten it belt'' as it asks others to do? Why don't our MPs and ministers reduce their pay and shed sme of their luxuries?

Even God seems opposing the poor for it is the poor who are always at the receiving end. This is the reason that people are becoming more and more agnostic.

Another thing is to make manifestos of all political parties and independent candidates mandatory to fulfill. If they fail as they do in fulfilling their election promises; they must be penalised for it. Their properties must be attached and the failure must attract jail terms for them. Perhaps this will jerk them out of their luxurious slumbers and restrain them from befooling the public.

The masses are fed up of present political dispensation. It needs a change. If it is denied it will usher in a revolution which may be bloody and harmful to the country. It may enslave many countries once again. The terrorists may gain upper hand everywhere by exploiting the miseries of the people. Hari Jaisingh has aptly said :''All that (people) have to do now is to assert themselves with a view to eliminating the gangsters and criminals from positions of power.'' Otherwise every street may look dangerous to walk through it coming years.

Women inmates: Prisoners of injustice

By G Ravindran Nair

Prisoners as a class are a harried lot and the plight of women prisoners across the country has to be seen to be believed. One who saw them at close range and urged the Government to make their life a little more livable and better was Justice Mr Krishna Iyer. As the head of the National Expert Committee, he went around the jails in the country where women are lodged and gave his recommendations in 1987. And the Union Government started sending instructions to the States for implementing the recommendations only around the middle of December 2001! For a semblance of justice women prisoners have been kept waiting for more than 15 years!

Mr Justice Iyer drew a bleak picture of the life in the dark and dank cells fifteen years ago: "Women in prisons, as we have witnessed during our visits to various jails in different States and Union Territories, suffer from unhealthy living conditions, exploitation, unnecessarily prolonged serverance from their families and lack of gainful and purposeful employment."

The Krishna Iyer Committee (1987) lamented that women received shabby treatment from the criminal justice system. It recommended the setting up of separate prisons and separate facilities for undertrials, convicted women prisoners and for young girls.

In the 90's Members of the National Commission for Women (NCW) visited many jails all over the country to study the condition of women inmates and found that things were in bad shape. According to the NCW study, the worst sufferers of the penal system are the undertrials who constitute 72 per cent of the inmates. Many offenders are thrown behind bars for petty offences for which they could have been released after a warning or on easy bail.... Worse still, many are detained illegally on grounds of destitution, begging or vagrancy for which the poor women should not have been in jail at all, but sent to some appropriate protective home. Most of the undertrials spend a much longer period in jail than the maximum sentence that could be imposed on them, if found guilty. Even in the world behind bars, women are pushed down to second class status.

But worse is the predicament of undertrials enjoying third class status; they are not provided with facilities which convicted prisoners are entitled to under the jail rules such as soaps, towels, etc. They are not entitled to the jail's vocational or literacy courses and are not even permitted to work, and if they work, they are not paid for it.

About seventy per cent of women prisoners are illiterate, ninety per cent come from rural backgrounds and seventy per cent are married. As a result they often fall into depression since visit them. What more is required to break their spirit? asked Ms Vibha Partharasathy, the then Chairman of the NCW at a seminar organised in New Delhi on May 19, 2000. One of the objectives of imprisonment is rehabilitation, but that actually happens is that the person is isolated from the community which itself hinders the rehabilitation process. Women face a greater problem of rehabilitation than men once they are discharged from prisons. The All India committee on Jail Reforms (1980-1983) suggested the setting up of "protective homes" rather than jails for women prisoners.

It is well recognised that women prisoners are entitled to special treatment, but the ground situation is totally different; their living conditions, treatment and training are much inferior to what is being provided to male prisoners, which itself is much below the desired level.

One salient feature noticed by the visiting NCW members was that the proportion of women prisoners suffering from mental depression was high compared to that of men prisones. Yet there was no provision for psychiatric treatment and counselling in the prison setting . Even ailments of women were attended to in an indifferent manner. Recreational facilities provided for inmates were rudimentary and there was poor arrangement in the provision of even toilets soaps and sanitary napkins.

Less said the better in regard to vocational training provided to women prisoners. Only traditional skills are being taught; the NCW has suggested the introduction of new courses with the assistance of Polytechnic Institutes, wherever possible. It was found that in several jails the products of the jail industries such as dolls, garments, candles, papads, ground masalas, etc were sold outside, but no part of the profit from the sale proceeds was credited to the account of the inmates who had laboured on them.

What drives women to crime? The trigger factors could be legion: poverty, maladjustment in married life leading to rows with in-laws, prostitution and many other psychologial, social and economic factors. A striking features noticed during jail visits was that the proportion of life convicts to term convicts was generally very high among women as compared to men. On analysis, it was found that in most of the cases women took the extreme step either in self-defence or in an impulsive moment arising from pent-up frustration due to cruelties inflicted on them day after day. After all, there is a limit to human endurance.

Here and there, a few reform programmes have been initiated incertain jails across the country to rehabilitate women prisoners. For instance, "Nari Bandi Niketan", a correctional home in Lucknow jail endeavours to organise the resettlement of women prisoners on a scientific basis. Women convicts are given educational and vocational training which will enable them to earn their living after release. Prisoners are taught various arts and vocations like domestic service, charkha, knitting embroidery, tailoring, etc. Provision has also been made for recreation and extra-curricular activities for the inmates and their children.

In the Tihar Jail in Delhi under what is called 'ethical therapy' the jail authorities organised yoga and meditation classes to bring about what every human being outside the prison walls craves for: mental peace and balance. Carpet-weaving and dress making were started for women. Cooperatives were set up to sell the products made by the inmates and the money earned was deposited in their names in a bank opened inside the jail premises.

To Uttar Pradesh goes the credit for appointing a probation officer to take special care of women convicts. The probation officer examines the case history of every convicts, probing her living conditions and her possible release or premature release and rehabilitation. she interacts with the families of the convicts to be released and tries to create the congenial conditions to persuade the families to accept the convicts on release. The services of the Gram Panchayat are sought in the rehabilitation of convicts from the rural areas.

As far as possible there should be jails exclusively for women convicts. As better environment could be created and greater care of the inmates could be taken. Such prisons managed by women personnel can go a long way in serving as correctional institutions and bringing custodial justice. They can provide them after custody, better environment and hygienic conditions and more space and freedom to move about. Breaking with the past, vocational training could be given in electronics and computer. The number of jails exclusively for women has gone up from 6 to 14 in the last two decades. Some of the States, with a negligible number of women under trial or convicted, may not require separate institutions, but a State like Maharashtra which has only one prison exclusively for women is direly in need of four for its four regions.

It is good news that Government has asked the states to implement the various recommendation of the Krishna Iyer Committee. It would be desirable that the States coopt the services of the State Women's Commissions and examine in depth the various recommendations of the NCW while tyring to give a facelift to custodial justice for women. PTI Feature

Something up the sleeves of ISI

By K N Pandita

Groups of armed followers of two Pushtun warlords in the eastern province of Pakhtia in Afghanistan were locked in gun battles in and around Gardez for several days. The shootout left fifty persons dead and many wounded. The American airforce planes hovered over the sky in Gardez but did not engage in bombing and straffing the war-torn region.

The Karzai government in Kabul nominated Badshah Khan as the ustander (Governor) of Pakhtia but to another influential warlord Saifullah, he was not acceptable. Supported by the Ahmadazi tribe, the latter's group fought pitched battles with those of Badshah Khan and ultimately managed to win the day. He is reported to have sent his men to Kabul to convince Karzai of his claim to the seat of power in Pakhtia.

However, there are indications that Karzai's government may not accept the demand of Saifullah and would even be prepared to face the consequences. Whatever may happen is what shall be seen later on but the important question is whether the intra-Afghan conflict will ever end even after Afghan met with devastation of unimaginable magnitude.

Commentators believe that there could be more in-fighting among the Afghans. Unconfirmed reports say that the forces loyal the deputy defence minister General Dostum took up cudgels with the forces loyal to the defence minister, General Faheem, the brother of deceased leader Ahmad Shah Masud. The clash between the two sides took place close to the border of Tajikistan. This has naturally caused some anxiety in Tajik ruling circles because Tajikistan has been the first and the only sufferer of the withdrawal overnight of the erstwhile Soviet troops in 1991.

But these two incidents of intra-Afghan armed clashes are not the only ones to reckon with. There is something more in the Afghan scenario. And what does it portend? The consequences could be grim and the entire peace process so assiduously built yet so fragile may collapse.

The worst possible form of these clashes could be the ethnic clashes among the large number of refugees from Afghanistan now living in Pakistan. Besides a Pushtun majority among the refugees, there are 30,000 to 40,000 Uzbeks, about 20,000 Hazaras and an equal number of Tajiks living in various colonies along the highway.

The first ethnic skirmish between the Pushtuns and the Uzbeks was reported in Jangabad, one of the Afghan colonies on September 21 last year. It left seven Afghan dead. The DIG of Karachi had told a correspondent that ''they fought because the Pashtun expressed sympathy for Mulla Omar and Osama bin Laden while the Uzbeks sided with the Northern Alliance.

In Karachi, the Jangabad locality of the Soharab Goth refugee camp is predominantly Pushtun while the Qayyumabad is overwhelmingly Hazara and Uzbek. The ethnic minorities are called ''traitors'' by the Pushtuns and charge them of allowing the Americans to come to Afghanistan at the cost of their pride. The original patterns of relations are changing in these camps and there is growing hatred among the people of different ethnicity.

On October 19, 2001, Pak-Afghan Defence Council called for a million-mass march in Karachi. A number of Pushtun youth asked non-Pushtun Afghans to join them and their refusal ed to serious fighting among the Afghans leaving at least two dead.

If the intra-Afghan clashes continue, there is every possibility of disruptive foreign elements seeking any opportunity of meddling with the affairs of Afghanistan. In particular those who had converted Afghanistan almost into their backyard for ''strategic depth'' could go to any length to destabilise the present interim government. The recent meet of the donor countries in Tokyo which pledged something over 5 billion dollars for the reconstruction of Afghanistan, must be an eyesore with these recalcitrant regimes Afghans and a particular the government of Hamid Karzai shall have to be alive of the danger of such a situation developing in the country. The evil has to be nipped in the bud.

The ISI can foment Pushtun and non-Pushtun clashes and provide grist to the mill of internecine conflict. In doing so, its objective will be to retain influence over at least some Pushtun dominated areas in Afghanistan. The presence of the peacekeeping troops from the Western countries is a thorn in the side of Pakistan. One way of creating difficulties for these foreign troops is to incite the local Afghans and rake up the issue of national pride. In such a scenario each group will accuse the opposing group of helping the Americans occupy their country. Who knows the story of mujahideen versus the Soviets may be repeated with changed actors on the scene.

Paying for the past

By Irfan Husain

Rich and powerful States and individuals often get away with their crimes, while the weak and the poor usually get caught and punished.

So it is with Pakistan : over the years, a culture of lawlessness has developed both internally and in our dealing with our neighbours. Promoting both is the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) an unaccountable and shadow organization that has been instrumental in making and breaking governments in Islamabad in the past, and is now perceived as being out of control. And as it has been involved in so many shady acts and deals, whenever a terrorist attack occurs in India and the ISI is blamed, much of the world is prepared to believe the charge.

Many countries use covert means to advance their agenda, and risk getting egg on their face when they are caught out. For instance, when French agents blew up the Rainbow Warrior in New Zealand to prevent it from sailing out to protest against the French nuclear tests, there was international uproar. Mossad agents are regularly engaged in assassinating Israel's foes abroad, so when a Christian warlord was killed in Beirut last week, fingers immediately pointed at Tel Aviv. The CIA has engage in countless cloak-and-dagger operations over the decades, and so is blamed for everything that goes wrong anywhere.

But when economically backward and politically isolated states routinely idulge in (or support) lawless acts of violence, they cannot simultaneously hope to get fiscal and diplomatic support. Through a stroke of luck, Pakistan got the opportunity of cashing in on the anti-terrorism bonanza; but it should not expect any support for its reckless foreign policy. The world does not share our distinction between terrorism and freedom struggle. To most civilized people, random violence against unarmed and innocent civilians is morally indefensible, no matter what the cause.

When we allowed Maulana Azhar Masood to move in after he was freed from an Indian jail in the aftermath of the hijacking of an Indian Airlines plane to Afghanistan in the last days of 1999, surely somebody in authority knew we were violating international norms. But to compound this act, Maulana Azhar was allowed to raise the Jaish-i-Mohammad, a group that operated freely in Pakistan and in Indian Kashmir.

When the Srinagar assembly building was attacked and some thirty people killed last December, the Jaish initially claimed 'credit' for this attack but withdrew its claim later. A similar attack on the Indian Parliament building on December 13 brought the two countries to the brink of war. Although Pakistan has emphatically condemned this terrorist attack, some of the blame has stuck because of our past support for the Jaish.

Another embarrassment has been caused by the famous list handed over to our government by the Indians. Apart from those Pakistanis released from Indian prisons, there are 15 names of the Indians accused of extremely serious crimes in thier own country. Despite official denial of any knowledge of their whereabouts, last year Newsline, a Karachi-based monthly, ran a cover story giving details of the comfortable exile several of these people were enjoying in Karachi under official protection. No denial was issued by the government at that time.

The problem with handing them over, of course, is that there is no telling what they might spill to the Indian authorities to save their own skins. The last thing General Musharraf would want at the height of a military stand-off a series of shocking revelations or operational details about covert, illegal acts.

In the eighties when Zia and the ISI oversaw the creation of the MQM to act as a counterweight to the PPP, there was an eruption of urban, ethnic terrorism. This flared up again in the early and mid-nineties when the MQM slipped the government leash, and the ISI set up a breakaway faction to take on Altaf Hussain and his party. The government crackdown on the party caused a significant loss of life in staged ''police encounters''.

This mayhem was the direct result of the state getting involved in illegal actions and meddling in the political process for petty short-term goals. The rise of ethnic violence was parallelled by Zia's encouragement of the madrassahs and sectarian parties across the country. The Afghan war spread cheap automatic weapons, and very soon armed militias were taking on a demoralized police force that, apart from being outgunned, was often forced to release these armed militants whenever they were arrested. Thus, Zia and his successors have contributed to the weakening of the writ of the state to the point that militants can openly defy the law of the land in the knowledge that they will get away with it.

In this environment of widespread lawlessness, the state and its organs have become helpless bystanders. We are perceived by foreigners as a country of law-breakers, and whenever there is an accusation against us, no matter how outlandish, there is a tendency abroad to believe it. Pakistanis are now viewed as heroin smugglers, illegal immigrants and terrorists. Our passports, long suspect, are now likely to be rejected by consular and immigration officers in most countries.

Now that General Musharraf is trying to bring Pakistan back into the international mainstream and restore the authority of the state, he will face an uphill task in controlling the thousands of armed militants who, despite their recent reversals in Afghanistan and Kashmir, are still extremely dangerous. His job will not be made easier by the presence of large numbers of fundmentalist sympathizers in the judiciary, the bureaucracy and the army.

In a sense, it is apt that the general should be trying to undo the mischief done by a predecessor, but we cannot draw much satisfaction from this irony as the stakes are too high. If Musharraf fails, there will be no second chance at redeption.