STOP NATO: �NO PASARAN! - HTTP://WWW.STOPNATO.ORG.UK --------------------------- ListBot Sponsor -------------------------- Get a low APR NextCard Visa in 30 seconds! 1. Fill in the brief application 2. Receive approval decision within 30 seconds 3. Get rates as low as 2.99% Intro or 9.99% Ongoing APR and no annual fee! Apply NOW! http://www.bcentral.com/listbot/NextCard ---------------------------------------------------------------------- [Over the past half century one of the largest recipients of US and British arms and training, Pakistan was even obliging enough to supply it's territory, armed forces and ISI intelligence personnel to run Washington's Mujahejin humanitarian freedom crusade in Afganistan for it. So appreciated is Robin Cook's and Madeleine Albright's favorite man in the Indian subcontinent, that then U.S. President Bill Clinton paid him a personal visit last autumn, almost a full year after Musharraf seized power in a military coup and jailed the country's elected president. Now he's declared himself president, for life presumably, and even abolished the nation's legislatures. Will the enlightened, democracy-loving NATOized West bomb Islamabad? Not on your life. The State Department and British Foreign Office will tsk-tsk a little, then continue to use Musharraf's colonial soldiers as 'peacekeepers' in Kosovo and Sierra Leone. To spread and solidify democracy, human rights and the rule of law. And don't look for the likes of International Crisis Group and Human Rights Watch to say anything, either. They're too preoccupied demanding the head of former - legally elected - President Slobodan Milosevic.] Wednesday June 20 9:03 AM ET Musharraf Makes Himself Pakistan President By Jack Redden ISLAMABAD, Pakistan (Reuters) - Military ruler General Pervez Musharraf had himself sworn in as Pakistan's new president Wednesday, increasing his official stature ahead of his July 14 summit in India. Underlining the abrupt nature of the move, the chief justice of the Supreme Court administered the oath of office less than five hours after the state media announced the figurehead president, Mohammad Rafiq Tarar, had been removed. The assumption of the formal role of head of state added new legitimacy to the position of Musharraf, who had ruled only as ``chief executive�� since seizing power in a bloodless October 1999 coup. ``I, in all sincerity, think I have a role to play and I have a job to do here...so I will not let this nation down,�� Musharraf told officials and diplomats invited to the presidential palace for the ceremony. ``I have been thinking about this change for a number of months. It�s one of the most difficult decisions I have taken; it was the most difficult decision because it involved myself.�� It not only strengthened his role ahead of talks with Indian Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee on July 14-16, it backed up his pledge that reforms he has begun will not be reversed with the return of a civilian government he promised by October 2002. At the same time as taking the presidency, Musharraf formally abolished the elected legislatures that he had suspended on ousting Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif. ``As far as the political process is concerned there is no change whatsoever,�� said Musharraf, who was dressed in civilian clothes. ``Let there be no doubt,�� he said of a court order that gave him three years from the date of his coup to restore elected government. ``The Supreme Court decision of holding elections by October 2002, we will abide by that.�� While taking the presidency, Musharraf said he was also retaining his roles of ``chief executive�� overseeing all the government and commander of the armed forces. ``It gives a sense of stability,�� said a senior member of the government. ``It shows consistency of policy and continuity of reforms.�� Musharraf said reassuring potential investors, which the heavily indebted country badly needs, about the future stability of Pakistan was one of his reasons for taking the presidency. His coup followed a decade of chaotic civilian rule. The change in status required amendments to the provisional constitution because the constitution was suspended at the time of the coup. The official APP news agency said details would be announced later. Assuming the post of head of state should boost his credibility for his meeting with Vajpayee, formally announced Tuesday. Some Pakistani politicians had questioned his authority to make any agreements with India. But a western diplomat said how Musharraf handles the assumption of the presidency will determine whether the move contributes to his legitimacy: ``What he says, how he presents it will be vital.�� The military government had hinted strongly that Musharraf would become president on restoration of civilian rule to enforce his vow that there would be no turning back on reforms. However, the move to install Musharraf immediately appeared to be tied to the imminent India-Pakistan summit, which will be the first top-level talks between the arch-foes since he took power. India had once expressed reluctance to deal with someone its media often labels as a ``military dictator.�� Musharraf had been in charge of the military when heavy fighting between Indian and Pakistani forces broke out two years ago along the cease-fire line separating the two countries in disputed Kashmir. India accused Musharraf of sending troops over the ``line of control.�� Pakistan has never admitted the incursion but the fighting ended after Washington put pressure on it to withdraw. Musharraf's term as head of the army was to end in October but he had stated he would stay on, removing any pressure for a decision on taking the presidency until the transition to civilian rule began. He was born in New Delhi, now the capital of India, in August 1943. The summit there will focus on the two nations' 54-year-old dispute over whether Kashmir should be part of India or Pakistan. The lifelong soldier had begun consulting Pakistan's politicians in preparation for his trip to India but no hint emerged from the meetings that he was about to install himself as head of state. Foreign governments have pressed Musharraf for an early return to civilian rule, but his military administration has won international support for his efforts to set the nation's finances in order. His government, which includes civilians in all key economic posts, unveiled a budget for the next July-June fiscal year Monday that continued its tight fiscal policies to counter a mountainous public debt run up under previous governments. Musharraf has vowed to exclude the prime ministers from the 1990s -- Sharif and Benazir Bhutto -- from any future political role in the country. Both are abroad and face corruption charges if they return. __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Get personalized email addresses from Yahoo! Mail http://personal.mail.yahoo.com/ ______________________________________________________________________ To unsubscribe, write to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
