Musharraf finds retirement a very humbling experience
Guardian News & Media Ltd
Published: September 11, 2009, 23:15
London: From the sweeping presidential palace of Islamabad to an unassuming three-bedroom flat behind the shisha bars and kebab joints of London's Arabic quarter one might have expected Pervez Musharraf to do better.
However, retirement has been an unsettling experience for Pakistan's former military ruler who, hounded by the threat of prosecution at home, finds himself living in the traditional bolthole of Pakistan's political class.
His simple apartment in a red-brick complex off Edgware Road is a sobering change from the pomp of Musharraf's nine-year rule. Gone are the legions of political acolytes; gone, too, are the liveried soldiers who snap to attention.
Security, however, remains tight. The retired general is guarded by a small team of retired Pakistani commandos, which he pays for himself, and a controversial protection detail from Scotland Yard.
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The retired dictator's digs are not cheap. The apartment, thought to cost over £1 million (Dh6.1 million), is furnished with fine silk carpets and leather sofas but neither are they large.
A modest living room overlooks rain-laden skies. A small study contains mementoes of past and present - a framed Time magazine cover picturing the bluff general under the headline 'The toughest job in the world'; a model cruise ship from a recent holiday; and a biography of London.
The question is how long he will stay. The retired ruler, looking relaxed in a cardigan and with his black hair newly dyed, declined to comment on the furore surrounding him in Pakistan. But he was clear about one thing: "I am not in exile."
Back home in Islamabad, the opposition is baying for his blood. Nawaz Sharif, the former prime minister Musharraf ousted in a coup in 1999, wants him tried for treason, a charge that carries the death penalty. The Supreme Court is also controlled by an enemy, Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry.
Yet few pundits believe Musharraf will face trial in the near future. The army, led by General Pervez Kiyani, opposes a treason charge. So does the civilian president, Asif Ali Zardari, who fears it could upset fragile civil-military relations. Nevertheless, they consider it wiser if Musharraf stays away for now.
The general finds himself in a city where he once banished rivals such as Sharif and Benazir Bhutto. His three-bedroom apartment is a far cry from the Park Lane penthouses owned by Sharif - proof, supporters say, that he did not greatly enrich himself in office.
Still, he lives well, dining at the Dorchester hotel, playing golf and hosting musical evenings at home.
A senior Pakistani official said that Musharraf pays £450 to hire an official VIP lounge every time he flies from or to Heathrow airport, and travels in a bulletproof vehicle. However, it is the nature and cost of his taxpayer-funded protection that is most controversial.
Perhaps recognising that a prolonged stay in London could be problematic, government officials do not want Musharraf to remain for long. A senior official said he was on a visitor's visa and predicted he would take up permanent residence in the Middle East or in the United States, where his son Bilal lives.
For now, though, Musharraf is polishing his public speaking: he starts a 40-day lecture tour of the United States next Tuesday. In particular, he is expected to be critical of Washington's close relationship with India reflecting a view held in Pakistani military circles.
The 16 lectures are organised by the Harry Walker Agency, whose other speakers include Musharraf's erstwhile partner in the "war on terror", former US vice-president Dick Cheney. Among the organisations he will address is the Young Presidents' Organisation, a forum for putative American leaders.
Musharraf will certainly have some insider tips for the power-hungry students although whether his method constitutes best practice is likely to trigger debate. Allegations, intrigue and Al Qaida
Did the Pakistani opposition leader Nawaz Sharif meet the Al Qaida leader, Osama Bin Laden, five times in 1989? So says Khalid Khawaja, a retired spy with Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) agency.
"I should know," he told the Guardian. "I arranged those meetings."
The prospect of Musharraf being tried for treason has stirred a storm of spicy allegations in Pakistan. While he has few supporters, his side has been bolstered by a series of damaging allegations against his arch-nemesis, Sharif.
Last month a former ISI general said the spy agency gave Sharif a large cash bribe to help scupper Benazir Bhutto's chances in the 1990 election. Two days ago came the Osama allegation.
"This is a character assassination campaign," said a Sharif spokesman, Asif Kirmani, who denied the accusations. "It could be those forces who do not want Musharraf on trial."
Many see the hand of the military, which wants to avoid a Musharraf trial, behind the publicity. Others blame the rivalry with President Asif Ali Zardari, who is deeply unpopular.
Either way, Musharraf enjoys the protection of powerful allies - some outside the country. During a visit to Pakistan last month, a senior British diplomat, Sir Mark Lyall Grant, denied press reports that he had been "meddling" in Musharraf's future.
Last week, Abdullah Bin Abdul Aziz, king of Saudi Arabia, sent a private jet to London to collect Musharraf and bring him to the kingdom for a three-day visit.
The unspoken message, Pakistani analysts say, was clear: don't mess with Musharraf.
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