Thread by @takhalus

Pervaiz Musharraf made some choices in the beginning that contrasted sharply with the Zia era. He opened up cellular phones and TV channels. He made a point about highlighting his Turkey experience, met with politicians like Ajmal Khattak and referenced Faiz. By contrast later on

His early cabinet, with the exception of the KP belt, made some surprising choices from the NGO sector with appointing Zubeida Jalal and the late Omer Asghar Khan.
His other appointments from Balochistan included Dr. Malik Kasi and as Governor CJ Amir ul Mulk Mengal

In Punjab and Sindh he co-opted people like Shahid Kardar and Hamida Khuhro. Behind the scenes power was with the army monitoring teams and the agencies that were primarily targeting PMLN. In KP, which had PMLN was either the 1st or 2nd biggest party was shattered as Q was formed

PMLN would never recover as the Sharif focus remained focussed on a Punjab revival.
In Punjab the two keys to power were firstly getting rid of the Sharifs who duly obliged by going into exile and second getting the Chaudhry’s of Gujrat on board via his middle man Tariq Aziz.

In Sindh the agencies assembled a motley crew of interior Sindh politicians many of whom are now in the PPP. But the key was Musharrafs rehabilitation of the MQM. The appointment of Dr Ishratul Ibad proved that in 🇵🇰 political relevance means more than popular support.

The former means you have utility. The latter means you can’t be controlled.

All this engineering must have consumed a huge amount of resources. So by the time there was the 1st upsurge of violence at the behest of the proto TTP groups, his solution was not to change Pakistans support for ‘good Taliban groups’ but to negotiate or pretend all was well.

The devastation this would lead on the Pashtun belt
was unprecedented. By the time he left office the Pakistan establishment had conceded large chunks of territory to these groups.

His opening of the media was not without check.
People like @SSEHBAI1 faced harassment and exile under the #Musharraf era.

The tragedy of the Baloch insurgence was a deal was almost finalised
“However, in Dec 2005, when Gen Musharraf was addressing a meeting.., rockets were fired... This gave hardliners the opportunity to reverse the peace process.”
@Mushahid
herald.dawn.com/news/1153862

“He won’t know what hit him” was Musharrafs refrain for Bugti. The province was left with a legacy of large scale insurgency and a traumatised generation of young kids who saw loved ones abducted by the state without any recourse to justice.

As he became more established in power his world view reflected the Pakistan state approach of “walk and chew gum at the same time” towards centres of power.
He believed in the minus one approach to political party’s. He was not anti PMLN as long as it didn’t have Nawaz Sharif

leading it. He wasn’t anti PPP as long as the leader wasn’t Benazir. He would court Shehbaz as the acceptable leader or Amin Fahim. If they didn’t play ball pressure was applied. The graduate degree qualification was introduced to shake things up and also used as tactic against

JUI and JI leaders. Two term limits and mandatory party elections were introduced as were bans against convicted politicians thereby forcing the PPP to create a PPP parliamentarians. When that didn’t work his agencies would help create a breakaway ‘Patriots’ PPP. PML had its Q.

And Q would in turn attract assorted elements from different party’s. From Farooq Leghari to Ajmal Khattak to G.M Jatoi.

In 2002, despite all the manipulation his elections still didn’t deliver a convincing win. The Chaudhrys backed PML Balochistan Zafarullah Jamali was nominated as PM despite the Akhtar’s of Lahore thinking that was their chance.
Needing every vote possible the chances were

improved by a (intentional) divide in the opposition. Maulana Fazlur Rehman was the joint nominee of the MMA, PMLN and Imran Khan and while the PPP (P) nominated a loyal party veteran called Shah Mehmood Qureshi.

@ImranKhanPTI would allege in July 2002 the general's powerful principal secretary, Tariq Aziz, tried to convince Mr Khan to join a pro-military alliance of political parties. But their meeting ended in acrimony. "You will never win your seat now.”
theguardian.com/world/2002/sep…

The Taliban policy was equally dual.
On one hand it was well known that Pakistan
state was driven by a single minded desire to ensure it maintained dominance over Afghanistan.
Musharraf would deny the existence of the Quetta shura.
While giving strategic depth to the Taliban.

“This is the most ridiculous statement, and it is the most ridiculous thought that the Taliban headquarters can be in Quetta... and Mullah Omar has never been to Pakistan—why would he come now?“
He would tell an event hosted by Bob Rubin

cfr.org/event/conversa…

In terms of FATA and the Pashtun belt.

https://twitter.com/takhalus/status/985640617442193408

The AQ Khan scandal.

https://twitter.com/takhalus/status/1107787168196542465

A look back at the assassination of Benazir Bhutto.

https://twitter.com/takhalus/status/892082900493107200

“..am tired of speaking..of telling our story again & again. If only suicide was not prohibited..I would have killed myself. The court has been hearing our case for years but my son is still not with me..”
-Father of a missing person @mohammedhanif
hrcp-web.org/hrcpweb/wp-con…

@P_Musharraf #Musharraf life was one of
avoiding the line of fire and escaping justice.
They say Judgement delayed is judgement denied.
But the final judgement on the system he served
is still pending.

Some additional reading for those interested.
“2003 ended with arrest of journalist Khawar Mehdi Rizvi & gov threats against journalist Amir Mir after he too wrote a ‘sensitive article’..Days later, 3.. persons came to his house..,poured gasoline on his car& set it on fire.

The Islamabad District and Sessions Court in April convicted Javed Hashmi of sedition, mutiny, and forgery. A month later the regime barricaded Lahore against its own citizens & arrested thousands to prevent an opposition @CMShehbaz leader from returning.

In July, the two-year Ranger-military efforts to evict tenant farmers in Okara by violence became internationally infamous with a devastating report by Human Rights Watch (HRW) in New York” @kdastgirkhan
“What Musharraf Calls Sedition is in Fact Patriotism”

The arrest of CJ Chaudhry, the pic that went viral
and triggered the kala coat movement.

The movement would make household names of Aitzaz Ahsan, Ali Ahmed Kurd and Munir Malik.
reserved.

“Ali Ahmed Kurd, sets a decision of Supreme Court rejecting legal challenges to Musharraf's rule ablaze in Islamabad, September 29, 2007. REUTERS/Mian Khursheed (PAKISTAN)”

Without justice there is nothing but sorrow
Just think, in the history of the world
When has the law giver been imprisoned
Just for the ego of a dictator
Justice has been trampled.”
- Kal, Aaj aur Kal

pakistaniat.com/2008/02/15/ait…

Nawaz Sharif appointed General #PervaizMusharraf (who took on the unusual title of Chief Executive after the 1999 coup).
Generals Ali Kuli Khan and Khalid Nawaz were superseded in favour of a man expected to be pliant.