Word: musharraf
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: all
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
...Should Pervez Musharraf continue to rule Pakistan for the next five years? Yes No Not Sure...
...Since Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf threw in his lot with the U.S. after Sept. 11, he has been wrestling to gain control over the 10,000-strong ISI. Transforming the organization from one that abetted Islamic militancy to one that combats it is fundamental to both Musharraf and the U.S. But it's a daunting task. Even by the shadowy standards of spy agencies, the ISI is notorious. It is commonly branded "a state within the state," or Pakistan's "invisible government." It has sponsored Muslim rebels in Indian-held Kashmir, and propped up the Taliban and by extension...
...preliminary signs are that Musharraf, despite many obstacles, is actually succeeding in taming the ISI. He has put trusted men into key antiterrorism posts, and the ISI's field agents around the country are carrying out their new orders. Says one Western diplomat: "There are no rogue elements in the ISI. The discipline's too strict for that...
...Meanwhile, Musharraf must also resolve some knotty issues that go beyond the hunt for bin Laden. To ensure Pakistan's stability, he must rely on the ISI to crack down on sectarian extremists, who have killed more than 70 people this year. Yet elements in the agency are believed to have maintained shady connections with these groups. Then there's the matter of the Pakistani leader's own survival. Many Pakistanis are angry with America these days, over the civilian bombing casualties in Afghanistan and Washington's support of Israel in its conflict with the Palestinians, who like most Pakistanis...
...Musharraf's first step in reining in the ISI was to dump its chief, Ahmed. He and the President were once close friends and fellow plotters in the 1999 coup that brought Musharraf to power. But former comrades say that Ahmed experienced a battlefield epiphany up in the Himalayan peaks during the 1999 Kargil offensive against India. After that, he began to pursue his own radical Islamic agenda. At a Cabinet meeting, he once yelled at an official: "What do you know? You don't even go to prayers...