In his latest appearance, former President Musharraf receives students from LUMS Lahore and NCA Rawalpindi. Here, one of the students, Amyn A. Ghulamali, says the former President was gracious and upbeat. He answered questions about his government but did not blame others where responsibility was his own. According to this student, Mr. Musharraf left his latest visitors with the impression of ‘a simple God fearing patriotic Pakistani.
Picture & Story By Amyn A. Ghulamali
RAWALPINDI, Pakistan — We were invited to the Army House on Saturday to have a one-on-one discussion with the Ex-President Pervez Musharraf. What was a half hour discussion between the students of LUMS Lahore and the students of NCA (Rawalpindi Campus) was one of the most fantastic experiences that I have had.
As we drove into the Army House there was immense security all around, I thought we would just have a quick formal meeting and then be told time was up and then leave. The officials showed us to the Ex President’s residential part of the Army House. We were seated in his sunroom and I noticed that it was very simple and there were no trophies (like pictures of his achievements or meetings with famous people or memorabilia from his army days). It was an elegantly decorated simple room. I had a special feeling, sensing that this could be one of the places where, for eight years, most of the key decisions regarding Pakistan were made.
There was no pomp and ceremony. And after three minutes he simply walked out wearing a trouser and a casual shirt and walked into the breezy, well lit room. He seemed well and in the highest of spirits, casually joking with all the students.
I was amazed to find out that even though he was asked various questions about his government he never put the blame on any one or try to have any political motives. He came across as a very down to earth man who had a pragmatic sense of reality as to what governance was.
The fantastic thing was that the ex-President knew so much about world affairs from an unbiased point of view and was not at all opinionated about many key issues that were brought about by the students of LUMS and NCA.
He did not have an agenda or political motive he was there as a friend and a mentor as someone who had seen life in the hot seat for the past few years and now wanted just to be a normal human being. His simplicity really impressed me and most of all, his honesty.
I cannot go into detail but I can say one thing: I have had the honor of meeting many important people in my life when they were in power and even when the chips were down but none of them left a mark on me as this simple God fearing patriotic Pakistani.
The half hour meeting was extended to a lot longer as one could see the twinkle in his eye as he was really enjoying meeting with the young minds of tomorrow. He did make a comment to the fact that we are the youth of today and the government of tomorrow and we should all take ownership of our country in the true sense. I’m sure to each one present it meant something different.
I went to see an Ex-President who was depicted in many forms by our media. I left happy that he was at peace with himself and was a unique superb human being just like so many citizens that we have out there.
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Thanks for sharing bud.
Pleasure!
yeah i also enjoyed his company once…not one-on-one
i attended the student convention of 2005…the one in which stanley wolpert was the chief guest n syed adnan kakakhel bashed musharraf…..
musharraf is really very shughlee…on the day of convention a very important ODI was being played between india n pakistan….he kept mentioning the score to the obvious delight of the audience…n when he announced that our bowlers have taken 3 wickets since the last update, a deafening round of applause followed which lasted 3-4 minutes….
LOL!
Didn’t Musharraf also bash Kakakhel back?
he attempted ….i mean he omitted to answer some points…for example, the one abt balochistan rebels (goli wahan se aye ge k pata bhi nai chalay ga or sth)….. but his initial remark abt the freedom of expression was great….
Yeah. And I think he did answer all questions.
Goli wala comment Akbar Bugti ke liye nahin tha?
umm i dont remember the original context of that threat…but even if it was aimed at akbar bugti, it was a very heartless & cold-blooded thing to say….n it was ultimately carried out too…civilized ppl use courts to settle disputes…n i believe “Do unto others as you would have others do unto you”. ….
n i am an eyewitness, mushoo dodged this question
The greatest thing that impressed me more than any other thing was his decision in staying in his own homeland, irrespective of what consequences he has to face. Security issues, political issues be it anything He was a Pakistani and He proved to be a proud Pakistani.
@Pinky: I saw the video and I don’t believe he dodged the question yaar. Khair, we have our own perspectives.
As for what he said, I stand behind him for saying and doing it to the man who was fighting to separate Balochistan from Pakistan. Akbar Bugti was also killing people, innocent ones. It was reported on TV that thousands of Bugtis were celebrating when he was killed and returning home from exile.
For god’s sake, he was a terrorist. To say something like that to a cold-blooded murderer is not heartless Pinky. It was well-deserved!
so u sanction the use of force i.e bombs n missiles to deal with terrorists, eh?? no wonder the mess we are in…….. history is witness, use of coercive force to curb force has been seldom successful….recall the first chechan war, russia with all its armed forces armed with sophisticated weapons n ammunition couldnt dominate the Chechan guerilla fighters hell bent on secession..ultimately, Boris Yeltsin had to sign a peace treaty…why do u think kashmir problem is still pending???? simply because use of force is not a solution to every problem….when all is said and done, negotiation is the best way to deal with conflicts…..and surely we r forgetting the advice of prophet Muhammad (PBUH) to Ali (AS) at the time of Ghazwa Khyber* when he was going to fight Marhab, fight (that is use of force) was the last option, what was the first one???u guessed it, invitation to peace & dialogue………
*correct me, if i confused the name of ghazwa
Hain? Yeh to main pehli baar sun raha hoon ke Marhab se negotiations ke liye kaha Rasoolullah (S.A.W.W.) ne Maulo (A.S.) ko! Is se pehlay teen martaba Khyber pe Musalman hamla kar chukay thay.
And yes, I support use of force against all those who want to break up my country. I will never support traitors like Akbar Bugti!
achha phir kisi se confirm kar laina….mera kuch pata nai chalta
ab tho (2) assignments ho gayi hain aap ki…1) to find why abt the interpretation of Al-qurba n the exclusion of daughters
2) Ali’s dialogue with marhab……NO EXCUSES…muharram main is na kisi scholar se taakra ho he jaye ga
Yaad dila dena!
acha bhullakkar mamoo, kara dun ge