Newsmaker: Pervez Musharraf

Pervez Musharraf

It is the number of Indian languages in which In the Line of Fire will be translated, that gives the game away. Clearly, the constituency whose attention General Pervez Musharraf, President of Pakistan, wants to engage through his autobiography, is on the other side of the border, not his own.

The book will be available in Tamil and Telugu, in addition to the Hindi paperback. Oddly enough, there's no Urdu edition.

Although the Indian armed forces are bristling with indignation over the General's account of the Kargil war being all his own, the Foreign Office is sanguine. Officials here say they recognise the book for what it is: a way of distracting attention from Pakistan's many problems.

The war on terror is turning into an internal civil war in Pakistan. Given the denial of several fundamental rights to Pakistanis and Kashmiris within Pakistan, there is no telling what kind of pressures could build up, say, in the Northern Areas, in addition to the troubles that he faces in Waziristan and Baluchistan.

But the nub of the issue is Afghanistan, with which Pakistan shares an open border. Analysts say the two peace processes have a see-saw relation. When violence ebbs on Pakistan's Kashmir border, it rises on Pakistan's Afghan border. As a result, both peace processes remain volatile.

The emergence of a new Taliban in Afghanistan has given rise to a war of words between Pakistan and Afghanistan. Pakistan sees in Afghanistan, strategic depth.

This need, the Afghans say, results in Pakistani patronage, official or otherwise, to the new Taliban "" Pashtoon-dominated, with support from NWFP and Baluchistan. Taliban leaders are based in Quetta, Afghan leaders allege. Under such tricky circumstances, which side is Musharraf on, they ask "" on the American side or on Osama bin Laden's?

The General also has to consider whether it would be politically smart to contest elections due next year.

To keep the uniform or toss it? So many decisions, so little time...

The interesting part is that on the India-Pakistan dialogue, there's more progress than there has ever been, despite punctuation marks like the Mumbai blasts. Trade has trebled, and despite delays, SAFTA may well get going.

Talks on demilitarising the Siachen glacier have narrowed differences to one or two points. There are indications that the border between India and Pakistan might really be softening. Back channel diplomacy on self-governance in Jammu & Kashmir is reaching a decisive point.

Musharraf's biggest headaches might yet lie in mastering internal challenges. Will he change the constitution to retain his uniform as well as the presidency? And how will he win over those who call him "Busharraf"?

When he met Business Standard in Islamabad in February this year, Musharraf was at pains to explain how much more democratic he is than the most democratic political party that had ever ruled Pakistan.

He also said: "I believe Kashmir is ripe for resolution. The people of India and Pakistan are ready. It can be resolved any time. It has to be resolved bilaterally. But a bilateral solution can be facilitated by the US."

It seems a pity that even Musharraf "" with or without new versions of history "" cannot present the resolution of the Kashmir issue as a political victory for Pakistan to his countrymen.