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Musharraf: Give Pakistan time
22/01/2008 09:55 - (SA)
Brussels - Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf, responding to what he called the West's "obsession" with democracy, pleaded on Monday to be allowed time to achieve higher standards of human rights and civil liberties.
Addressing another international concern, Musharraf, told an audience in Brussels that despite the turmoil in his country, Pakistan's nuclear weapons were secure under his rule and would not fall into the hands of the terrorists and extremists that plague the country.
"While we believe in democracy and human rights and civil liberties please allow us time to reach what you have reached. And you have taken centuries to reach it," Musharraf said during an appearance before journalists and analysts at the start of an eight-day European tour.
The Pakistani president, who met with senior European Union and NATO officials, also pledged that February 18 elections will be "fair, transparent and peaceful".
EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana said after meeting the former military leader that the conduct of those elections would determine the EU's relations and engagement with the country.
NATO Secretary-General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer told Musharraf that a stable Pakistan was crucial for both the alliance and Afghanistan.
'Misunderstandings' in the West
Musharraf wants to assure European leaders that his country is a reliable and indispensable ally in the fight against terrorism. But, he said on Monday, his country also suffers from "misperceptions, misunderstandings and distortions" in Western capitals.
The former army chief who seized power in a 1999 coup has been criticised for his brief declaration of emergency rule last year. The political turmoil was compounded by the December 27 assassination of opposition leader Benazir Bhutto.
Musharraf said he expects understanding for his country's predicament: a largely tribal society struggling to be a democracy and taking on the role of a frontline player in the global fight against terrorism.
What hampers democracy in Pakistan, he said, is that "we have a feudal, tribal environment in some of our provinces".
While promising that February's parliamentary elections - which were delayed after Bhutto's killing - will be fair, Musharraf said democracy in his nation could not be compared with that in the West.
'Give us time'
"Therefore, in accordance with our environment we have to adapt democracy, human rights and civil liberties," he said. Pakistan is "on the right course, but our environment and your environment are very, very different."
Speaking of what he called an "obsession" with democracy in the West, Musharraf said, "You have taken centuries to reach where you have come. Allow us time for going for the value that you have reached for yourself."
Musharraf has rejected accusations that his government had a hand in Bhutto's slaying. The Brussels-based International Crisis Group has called Musharraf "a serious liability, seen as complicit" in the opposition leader's death.
Musharraf acknowledged that 2007 was a "turbulent" year, capping 20 years of growing terrorism and extremism in Pakistan's western regions and neighbouring Afghanistan.
He swept aside concerns that political instability could drive Pakistan's nuclear arms out of his government's hands, saying, "There is no chance at all of our nuclear assets falling into the wrong hands."
Despite a recent surge in attacks by militants linked to al-Qaeda and the Taliban, Musharraf asserted that "we are on the winning side" in the fight against terrorists and that al-Qaeda was on the run.
During his European visit, the president will also meet with French President Nicolas Sarkozy, British Prime Minister Gordon Brown and US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.
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