Two Leaders, on a Collision Course

The President
Pervez Musharraf
Two days before he planned to lift the state of emergency he had imposed in early November, Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf was still angry. In an interview with NEWSWEEK's Lally Weymouth on Thursday, he blamed the Western media for many of his problems—from the rise in attacks by Islamic extremists to opposition from judges and lawyers, who have taken to the streets to protest his suspension of the constitution and firing of the country's chief justice. Elections scheduled for early January will be free and fair, he insisted. But Musharraf refuses to admit he made a mistake in ordering the crackdown. Excerpts:

NEWSWEEK: Is there a difference now that you have shed your uniform and relinquished your post of army chief of staff?
MUSHARRAF: On a personal note, I loved my uniform. From the national point of view, I don't think there is a difference. I think the overall situation will be better and stronger. The army is being managed by a chief of staff dedicated to the job, and I will be president of Pakistan, and if the two are totally in harmony, the situation is better.

You will appoint the heads of the Army?
I will appoint the chief. The security services report to the president and the prime minister … The ISI [military intelligence service] reports to the political leaders.

Once there is a prime minister, how do you see power being shared?
The prime minister runs the government. Then there is a National Security Council chaired by the president that meets to review situations. But this is only a consultative body. There is no sharing of responsibility really.

You announced [that the state of emergency] will lifted on Dec. 15. Does that mean that the regulations recently imposed on the press will be lifted?
There are no restrictions on the press.

Wasn't there a code of conduct [mandating "responsible journalism"]?
We issued a code of conduct and asked them to sign it. It's as good as you have in your own country. All the [TV] channels except one accepted it, and all except one are open. The print media were not closed at all.

In the U.S. there is no code of conduct for journalists—they are free to write what they want.
If you see our press and electronic media, there is no problem criticizing the government … The problem was that they were distorting realities and creating despondencies in the people of Pakistan by showing pictures of dead bodies and interviewing terrorists—not showing the law-enforcement authorities in a good light but showing the terrorists in a better light. Thus they encouraged terrorism and discouraged the law enforcers. They were undermining the good work of the government, were entirely one-sided, and some responsibility had to be brought in.

Don't you think you should lift the code when you end the state of emergency?
No, the code of conduct is there in most countries of the world. Why should we compare the United States to Pakistan?

Will the judges [you fired] be restored to their prior positions?
No, not at all. What judges? Why should they be restored? New judges are there. They will never be restored.

People in the West will have a hard time understanding that.
Let them not understand. They should come to Pakistan and understand Pakistan.

Since you say you are restoring the constitution, why not also restore the courts?
No, there is no restoration of courts required—the courts are already there.