By Dipankar De Sarkar, IANS
London : Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf’s charm offensive in Europe is apparently leaving a lot of people unconvinced.
A tirade by him against a veteran and respected London-based Pakistani journalist at a public event has prompted a swift condemnation by the US-based Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), a blog by a shocked British editor and even the threat of legal action by Pakistani students in London.
Musharraf is reported to have threatened M. Ziauddin, London correspondent of the liberal Dawn newspaper, after the journalist asked him a question about last month’s mysterious escape of a wanted British terrorist, Rashid Rauf, from a Pakistani jail.
According to reports in the British media, Musharraf promptly accused Ziauddin of “casting aspersions” and “undermining our forces and your own country”.
Paktribune.com – described as an independent online news service – said “students leaders” in Britain have threatened to move the British justice system over the comments that were made during an event at the prestigious Royal United Services Institute Friday.
It said students had accused Musharraf of inciting the Pakistani community to violence by telling the gathering that such people (like Ziauddin) “must be dealt” with for asking such questions.
Meanwhile, in New York, the CPJ’s Asia coordinator Bob Dietz said Musharraf’s comments were “a chilling indicator of the Musharraf government’s real attitude towards the Pakistani media”.
“Despite publicly claiming that he supports free expression, Musharraf has closed down television stations, silenced critics, and has apparently resorted to threatening them as well,” he said in a statement published Monday.
David Blair, the diplomatic editor of the Daily Telegraph newspaper – Britain’s largest-selling broadsheet – was so astonished by Musharraf’s tirade, he filed a blog on it saying although the visiting Pakistani leader was usually a good performer, “very occasionally, the mask slips.”
He said Ziauddin asked “a perfectly reasonable question about how a prominent suspected terrorist, Rashid Rauf, had somehow escaped the custody of Musharraf’s security forces.”
“As soon as Ziauddin rose to ask his question, Musharraf visibly bristled. Instantly, his demeanour changed from being relaxed and confident to tense and hostile.
“Musharraf promptly accused Ziauddin of ‘casting aspersions’ and ‘undermining our forces and your own country’. In a brief but furious tirade, he questioned Ziauddin’s patriotism and professionalism.
“This disgraceful response to an entirely reasonable query spoke volumes about Musharraf. He will question the patriotism of any Pakistani critic – betraying his essential intolerance of dissent,” Blair said.
According to the Pakistani media, the opposition Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) has condemned the president’s remarks, terming them “insolent and unbecoming of a head of state.”
In a statement, PPP spokesman Farhatullah Babar said Musharraf’s remarks showed he had “little respect for people with independent minds”.
Britain is the last stop in what has been termed Musharraf’s charm offensive in Europe, where he has sought to convince a slew of leaders that he is committed to promoting democratic reforms in Pakistan. Analysts say most European leaders have had to take him at his word because of the strong backing he receives from the US and because he is seen to be a key ally in the war against terrorism.
Nevertheless, his visit to British Premier Gordon Brown’s office for discussions Monday was marred by a large and noisy demonstration by pro-democracy Pakistanis, who brandished their shoes at him as he left.