Shrewd Musharraf maintains his grip

That Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf feels secure enough to leave his country for a week is testimony to the growing confidence of a man who has emerged as one of America’s most crucial allies in the war against terrorism.

As he jets his way through Europe en route to the annual session of the U.N. General Assembly in New York, where he will meet with President Bush on Saturday, Musharraf is being hailed by Western leaders for his steadfast support for the U.S.-led coalition in the face of calls for his overthrow from angry Islamic fundamentalists.

Back home in Pakistan, his government is bracing for what the fundamentalists have promised will be the biggest demonstration yet of popular opposition to Musharraf’s support for U.S. policy: a nationwide general strike scheduled for Friday.

Yet Musharraf, speaking in Paris on Thursday, laughed off suggestions that his leadership might be challenged in his absence.

“The very fact that I’m sitting comfortably here talking to you, leaving my country for seven days, shows that all these perceptions are misplaced,” he said at a news conference in response to a question about his grip on power.

Musharraf clearly has reason to be worried though. When he declared his support for the United States, he promised his people that any war would be short and sharp.

With no end in sight to the campaign after nearly five weeks of bombing, Musharraf is using his trip abroad to try to persuade coalition leaders to halt the bombing during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan or risk a “negative fallout in the entire Muslim world.”

His request is unlikely to be met.

U.S. officials have told Musharraf they believe it would be counterproductive to halt the campaign in mid-November, despite the risk of a backlash in Pakistan and elsewhere. That Musharraf is continuing to press his case reflects the depth of his concerns at the prospect of a prolonged war that risks eroding the support of the silent majority of Pakistanis who initially backed his decision to join the coalition.

Civilian casualties

Speaking later Thursday in London, where he traveled for talks with British Prime Minister Tony Blair, Musharraf also urged that the bombing should be “well-targeted,” to avoid the civilian casualties that are starting to shift public opinion in Pakistan.

“It is against terrorists in Afghanistan but it is being perceived, because of the projections in the media and the television, as if this is a war against the poor, miserable and innocent people of Afghanistan, and this is not the case, so it is a wrong perception,” he said of the bombing campaign.

Musharraf’s challenge to the accuracy of American bombing illustrates the assurance with which he has stepped into his role as a valued ally: the soldier president who is taking risks for the sake of the coalition and who expects to be listened to in return, analysts say.

Musharraf’s challenges

With his rimless spectacles and flashes of humor, Musharraf resembles a stern but kindly schoolteacher more than a military dictator who seized power in a coup from the country’s civilian government.

But his appearance masks the steely resolve with which he has steered his country through the minefield of challenges caused by his decision to back the United States and for which he has started to earn the grudging respect of many Pakistanis.

“He’s not as stupid as he looks,” said Farid Butt, a marketing consultant who analyzes public opinion in Pakistan. “He was a good general and now he’s turning out to be a good politician.”

By calling for a bombing pause, Musharraf is also sending a signal to Pakistanis that despite his support for the coalition, he is no American puppet but a Muslim who shares his people’s concerns about civilian casualties and the importance of Ramadan, said Rifaat Hussain, who heads the defense and strategic studies department at Islamabad’s Quaid-I-Azam university.