Musharraf Travels to India for Cathartic Debate

Former Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf jousted with Indian questioners about how to improve one of the world's most dangerous relationships

NEW DELHI -- He came. He sparred. And in the end, he received a standing ovation from the combative crowd.

Former Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf, who won power in Pakistan during a 1999 military coup and was ousted last summer, asked the Indian audience he spoke to Saturday to accept Pakistan. He appealed for India's help in curbing violent religious extremism, rather than demonizing Pakistan as a source for it. And he said he had come to India as "a man for peace," describing years of official and back-channel talks to settle sea and land border disputes that have plagued the two nations since they were formed by the bloody 1947 partition of British-ruled India.

In between a polite welcome and the warm conclusion, Mr. Musharraf also jousted with Indian questioners about how to improve one of the world's most dangerous relationships. Nuclear-armed India and Pakistan are burdened by a past that includes three wars, a present relationship strained from the Mumbai terrorist attacks and the looming prospect that a new strike could trigger another conflict.

Mr. Musharraf tried his best to steer the countries from confrontation, in a long discursive meditation about burying the past and tackling problems together.

"We have done enough damage to each other," he told a conference hosted by the news magazine India Today. "We should try for peace now, with equal zeal that we had confronting each other."

It was his first trip to India since being driven from power in August last year, and it comes at extremely delicate time. Pakistan's civilian government, led by the new president, Asif Ali Zardari, is embroiled in several crises -- including a violent militancy, a struggling economy and an energized political opposition.

Foreign governments fear that Pakistan's instability poses a threat to others. India, in particular, has been scathing.

"In Pakistan, with regret, I would say we don't know who is in control there -- whether it is the army or the president or the government,' ' the Press Trust of India news agency quoted Indian Home Minister Palaniappan Chidambaram as saying Friday. "It is not a failed state, but it is threatening to become one." A home ministry spokesman couldn't be reached over the weekend to confirm his comments.

In late November, militants arrived in Mumbai from Pakistan, officials from both countries say, and a gun and grenade siege on hotels and restaurants left more than 170 dead. Last week, about a dozen gunmen attacked the Sri Lankan cricket squad in the Pakistani city of Lahore, killing six policemen and two others before escaping. Critics of Pakistan say the attacks show its security forces are, at best, ineffective and, at worst, complicit in the attacks.

The former president and ex-army chief -- who oversaw a brief 1999 battle with Indian forces in the contested region of Kashmir -- rejected any official role in the attacks. He also jabbed back at critics.

When challenged about the role Pakistan's army and Inter-Services Intelligence agency played in fostering Islamic militants, Mr. Musharraf said there was plenty of evidence to show India's spy service, known as the Research and Analysis Wing, has helped antigovernment fighters in Pakistan.

'Your RAW does exactly to us what our ISI does to you," he said.

Mr. Musharraf has kept a low profile since his ouster. He seldom speaks to the media in Pakistan, and has avoided criticizing the current government. His public appearances overseas have been rare. But on Saturday, the 65-year old retired general, wearing a business suit with a tie of deep purple, seemed to relish being back in the spotlight.

"I can go on for ten hours," he said at one point.

Mr. Musharraf made the trip despite friends, and his daughter, urging him to cancel because of hostilities between the two countries. Late into the night, though, both the speaker and his crowd seemed to recognize the cathartic nature of the debate. Even skeptics of his arguments gave him credit for showing up.

"It was a brave attempt," said Deepak Kapoor, managing partner in India of PricewaterhouseCoop ers Pvt. Ltd.

An Indian foreign ministry spokesman said there were no official meetings planned for Mr. Musharraf. Before his departure from Pakistan Friday, Mr. Musharraf said he may meet with former Indian Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, his counterpart in some of the peace talks.

He gave few clues about his own future. Although he said he was enjoying his retirement, Mr. Musharraf didn't rule out a return to public life. He allowed that he would be interested in a peace-brokering role between the two nations, when it was suggested by a questioner. Some in the audience admitted to nostalgia for a Pakistani leader clearly in charge of the country.

"He's received a fantastic reception," said Venu Nayar, a sales director for a petrochemical company. "We Indians have very short memories.