The Times of India
17/12/2007
NEW DELHI: India is sceptical of a future Pakistani government under the stewardship of Benazir Bhutto.
In one of the first comments by the Indian leadership on a future Pakistani government, National Security Advisor M K Narayanan said, "Her track record is not necessarily something that would make us believe that she will follow to the letter and the spirit of what she has said."
In an interview to a TV channel, Narayanan was doubtful whether Benazir could follow through with her promises that she would close down terror camps, private militia and even flirted with the possibility of giving India access to Jaish-e-Mohammed's Masood Azhar and LeT's Hafiz Saeed. "It's difficult to believe she will.
One has to go by what she did in the 90s, so one is sceptical... even if she wishes to do so, the single most important entity in Pakistan remains the army and the ISI and I find it extremely difficult to believe that prime minister Benazir Bhutto, if she becomes that, will have a free hand in doing all the things that she wishes to do," Narayanan said.
It's the first time India has openly talked about Benazir's lousy record with terror — she is generally regarded as the founder of the Taliban, along with her minister Nasrullah Babar. She had openly admitted to being the one to cement Pakistan's nuclear proliferation ties with North Korea and under her tutelage, terror camps against India had flourished. Narayanan's comments also coincide with foreign minister Pranab Mukherjee's statement welcoming the lifting of emergency in Pakistan.
Musharraf, however, comes in for "grudging respect" by the NSA. He reaffirmed India's official line that it would continue to do business with Musharraf. "I must say there is a certain amount of grudging respect for the manner in which president Musharraf has managed to overcome his previous struggles. He's moved from a military president to a civilian president. He's managed to see there is no boycott to the election to the assembly. To some extent, he has managed to ride (it out). At least definitely in the short term it should be possible (for him to succeed). If he manages to do so in the long term then, of course, he's a very able person," Narayanan said.
Musharraf remains India's favourite Pakistani leader, and while Musharraf's popularity may be ebbing in his own country, in India as in Washington, he is a "credible interlocutor". "We will do business with whoever has the stamp of approval in Pakistan," Narayanan said.
He added that while in the longer term Musharraf's future depended on the army standing united as well loyal to him, as of now "I don't see any sign of cracks in the system". "If you take the corps commanders and generals, they are all on the same wave length. When ambition emerges it may be different. But at the moment, I don't see any major cracks," the NSA said.
But the immediate future in Pakistan is more cloudy from the Indian standpoint than either Pakistani or American.
Putting his finger on the nub of the issue, Narayanan said, "The basic point is how does a civilian President play out in Pakistan when the army is still the dominant force? Next, we will have a Prime Minister shortly. Therefore you will have three authorities or centres of power - a civilian President, the Army Chief and the Prime Minister - as against one single unified element earlier.
