In an article in today’s Dawn, written before Musharraf’s interview by David Frost, San Francisco based economist, Ahmad Faruqui, engages in a “thought experiment” of how Musharraf might respond if asked the kind of tough questions that Frost had put to the deposed Reza Shah of Iran in 1980, and to Richard Nixon of the United States in 1977. Dr. Faruqui believes that Musharraf committed “crimes against the constitution,” and holds that “the major problems the country is going through today are a legacy of his rule in which all political institutions were demolished. If that link is not established, the nation will simply be inviting another coup.”

In the event, David Frost asked his own set of questions; but even so, the interview provides a fascinating insight into Musharraf’s current thoughts.

Musharraf believes that solutions lie in restoring confidence and trust. “Pakistan is suffering” but were the people to “to have confidence in the government, … the situation is recoverable.” What about Pakistan’s relationship with America, today? Although the people of Pakistan, says Musharraf, view America almost as favorably today as they did during his time, “the worst part of the whole situation is [that] there is a trust deficit in United States agaist the ISI, and in many quarters, against the army” and if terrorism and extremism is to be fought, “if anything has to be repaired, this trust deficit has to go, certainly.”

When asked, “What is the most urgent task [for the President and Parliament] to deal with?” Musharraf did not hesitate: “I think terrorism; terrorism and extremism,” and “the other is the economy.”

On security, Musharraf’s view is that “the same people [the Mujahedeen] who were holed up …in the ‘79 to ‘89 [period], … these were the people who became al Qaeda.” In terms of numbers, he say that “we brought about twenty five to thirty thousand Mujahedin here,” but “then after the breakup of Soviet Union, lot of Chechens and Uzbeks came in. [Initially,] they were in our cities and in the mountains… [but now] they are no more in the cities; [but they are] in the mountains…”

Reagan's Taliban Guests in the White House

“Now how many are there? I wouldn’t be able to give a figure; but certainly much more than three, four hundred.” Could “the insurgents, and the militants … win, and overthrow the government of Pakistan?” Musharraf’s answer is “I don’t think so; unless we blunder [i.e. "loosen on the use of force"], keep blundering and giving them space,” because history shows that “there is no way that they [the religious parties] can win through an election and come into government in Pakistan.” It is interesting that Musharraf does not seem to make a clear distinction between Al Qaeda and so-called “religious” political parties.

On Swat, Musharraf best exposes the cobwebs of his mind. He seems to realise that Pakistan’s colonial system of law and justice is full of “defects, and shortcomings, and delays” so that Swat’s absorption into Pakistan in 1969 was, in this respect, a retrograde step. “So [the] people’s demand [for] fast, speedy justice always remained. Now, the … Nizam-e-Adl, that you give them speedy Kazi Courts, speedy cheap justice… [is] to that extent … good; but if that means that it will be out of the legal system of Pakistan, the high courts, the supreme courts, … If it is outside that legal structure, … It’s a challenge to the writ of the government.” In other words, “Speedy, cheap justice must be ensured; within the legal ambit of Pakistan, and the constitution of Pakistan. But denying the constitution of Pakistan and bringing laws which are different from Pakistan, must not be allowed.” This respect for the constitution and laws is refreshing.

Musharraf clearly does not see any contradiction in insisting that a system inherently full of “delays” should deliver “speedy” justice — because, presumably, of his respect for the constitution and the laws of Pakistan. There is a Latin America joke about the police chief who when asked what he would do for a friend, replied “for my friends, anything; but for my enemies, the law!” Nor, like many commentators, does Musharraf understand what the “writ” of government really means; especially, when the government itself is illegitimate, or when a legitimate government issues illegitimate orders, or when the legitimacy of the courts themselves is questionable.

Nor does he see himself as having committed “crimes against the constitution” as charged by Dr. Faruqui. As Musharraf explains: “there is no way that I have done anything wrong: legally, and constitutionally,” because, “all the actions that I took, whether it was [the coup of] ‘99, or beyond, have legal … [and] constitutional [cover]. So therefore, yes, it was the same Supreme Court, with an eleven member bench, which has passed judgments, declaring whatever I did, as quite all right.” As for vendetta, by Nawaz Sharif and Chief Justice (CJ) Chaudhry, Musharraf hints that if the CJ has files on him, he has files on the CJ: “evryone keeps files on each other!”Therefore, unless they “go into the illegal and unconstitutional mode” he is confident of his innocence, but his advice, for the sake of Pakistan, is that “we ought to be looking forward, instead of getting … bogged down in personal vendettas.”

Where 9/11 brought benefits, Musharraf believes that it also subverted his overall strategy and objectives. In the three years given to him by his Supreme Court after the 1999 coup he had hoped to “reform the civil services, restructure the government, which I couldn’t do … because of the distraction after 9/11 to fight terrorism, extremism, al Qaeda and then, finally, Taleban, etc.” This would have served to achieve his objective of “the progress and development of the state, and welfare [and] well-being of the people.” Again, the link between the strategy and the objectives is revealing of his understanding of these issues.

Surprisingly, Musharraf claims that he had “almost reached a resolution of … the Kashmir dispute” but today he blames India for whipping up “war hysteria” after the Mumbai attacks, when Manmohan Singh and he had agreed that “we will not allow terrorist acts to hinder, to impede the process of peace.” As a result, “the whole peace process that we had initiated is in doldrums.”

Just as Faruqui had anticipated, Musharraf, like the Shah of Iran before him, denies completely that there were any missing, detained, of abducted persons during his reign. “These missing people are those who have joined some kind of Jihad somewhere, either Kashmir, or Afghanistan.”

And then, an inadvertent revelation of how he thinks: “I know one of the leaders, a person, a lady, who is talking of her husband missing. I personally know, because we investigated that, that he was involved in Jihad. If you see his photograph, you will say yourself, yes, this man must have gone somewhere and done something. They are missing on their own” (emphasis added). Clearly, Musharraf is no opponent of Islamophobic profiling. (Earier, Musharraf had also claimed that no child or woman was killed in the controversial military operation conducted in Lal Masjid in 2007.)

It is now widely believed, certainly the US no longer makes any secret of it, that Musharraf allowed US drone attacks in Pakistan. Yet, Musharraf claims in this interview that he is opposed to these drone attacks, and while the “need of attacking militancy on our side is definitely there … it must be by our own forces. The resources [i.e. the drones] must be provided to Pakistan.”

On Obama, Musharraf shares the emerging consensus that there is no evidence so far of any essential change: “I don’t see any change, really. I mean, what is the change as far as terrorism and extremism is concerned? And as far as our region and Afghanistan is concerned? There is no change.”

Finally, the question and answer that made headlines (e.g. “Musharraf ready to come back to power“) in context:

Frost: Hearing you talk, today, President Musharraf, … It’s clear you’re still obviously fascinated in the subject of Pakistan, …, so could you be tempted back into politics, if people wanted you?

Musharraf: [Laughs] I really don’t know, I wouldn’t be able to comment at the moment. My… I always have coined a term, ‘Pakistan first’; that caught on, it’s Urdu version is ‘sab say pahlay Pakistan‘ Pakistan first… I hope and pray that the government handles Pakistan, does well for Pakistan, as I said, progress and development of the state, welfare and well-being of its people. If they can ensure this, I’ll be the happiest man. But if this is not ensured, and Pakistan is on a nosedive or a self-destruct mechanism is on and we are going and then if I, if I, can contribute something, to… to rectify the situation, certainly, I will, my life is, for the country, for Pakistan.