Gen Musharraf’s death evokes mixed reactions in India:
On Monday, India’s reaction to Gen. Pervez Musharraf’s death was mixed, with some politicians and the media applauding him and others criticising his government.
The Bharatiya Janata Party chastised Congress MP Shashi Tharoor for designating former President and retired General Pervez Musharraf as a force for peace, despite the All-Parties Hurriyat Conference in India-held Kashmir grieving his departure.
Former Prime Minister of India-controlled Jammu and Kashmir Mehbooba Mufti paid tribute to the late military chief.
“Deepest condolences. Perhaps the only Pakistani General who genuinely tried to address the Kashmir issue. He wanted a solution according to wishes of people of J&K & acceptable to India & Pak. Though (India) has reversed all CBMs initiated by him & Vajpayee ji, the ceasefire remains intact.”
Congressman Shashi Tharoor slammed the BJP for “eulogising” the mastermind of the Kargil War, claiming that former General Pervez Musharraf, who died on Sunday, was “an implacable foe of India” who subsequently became a “real force for peace.”
In Indian media, he was praised for reviving India-Pakistan cricket relations.
Following the 2004 series:
India returned to Pakistan in early 2006, and the Pakistani team returned to India for a full Test series in 2005, 2007, and 2008 for the Asia Cup.
The Indian Express Said:
“Before Musharraf’s time, bilateral tours between the two countries had been far few with huge gaps in between. Pakistan went to India in 1979-80 after a gap of nearly 18 years and India came to Pakistan in 1978/79 for the first time since 1954/55.”
“Ironically these tours in the late 70s also took place during the tenure of another military dictator, General Zia ul Haq, who also used cricket diplomacy to reduce tensions. Musharraf himself wasted no opportunity to show up at cricket matches even in India when Pakistan was playing. In 2005, he turned up at the Feroze Shah Kotla ground to a warm welcome.”
Sharat Sabharwal, a former Indian ambassador to Pakistan, wrote:
“Musharraf’s adventurism was in ample evidence in the years to come — in Kargil, his October 1999 coup and iron-fisted rule with scant regard for constitutional norms. A commando by training, he pursued and held on to power audaciously. However, he spent his last few years as a fugitive in Dubai before succumbing to a rare disease.”
The Indian Express in an editorial stated:
“Unofficially, he continued to run with the hares as he hunted with the hounds, turning over some alleged al Qaeda operatives on Pakistani soil to the Americans but tipping off targets of imminent drone attacks, and proscribing terrorist groups, only to turn a blind eye as they resurfaced under changed names.”
The Indian Express Further added:
“His attempt to clean out Islamist radicals who had taken control of the capital’s Lal Masjid in the summer of 2007 led to the formation of the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan, and a backlash of terrorist attacks across the country.”
Pavan Manzoor is an experienced content writer , editor and social media handler along with a track record of youth-oriented activities in Pakistan and abroad. She was selected as a fully-funded delegate as a leadership fellow in Turkey. She also led a team of 5 volunteers at the week-long Young Professionals Fellowship in Maldives. She is also a member of the Youth Standing Committee on Higher Education.
