Unit Durbar — Circa 2001
By each unit having regular monthly Durbars the army inadvertently trains its leaders on how to address captive audiences. Pervez Musharraf’s delivery normally ranges from good to excellent but when an audience reminds him of his days as a Commanding Officer of a Regiment of Artillery, the Chief Executive excels, he is outstanding. The assembled holy men who came to the National Seerat Conference were unlucky to be caught on one of Musharraf’s “Unit Durbar” days, and to be read, what amounts to, the “riot act”. Independent observers confirm that Musharraf comes across as a credible leader who will not be blackmailed by any vested group, religious or otherwise. He is not a hypocrite, neither would he be mistaken for a graduate of Harvard’s “Fletcher School of Diplomacy”.
One feels sorry for the “Holinesses” used as “fillers” of the empty spaces of the Conference Hall by the minions of government, in their wildest imaginations they would never have anticipated such a blunt and focussed tirade. Mostly “friendlies”, the Maulanas were expecting to hear sweet nothings, then depart full of tea and samosas (and maybe a few government perks), the blistering speech stunned them into silence. The message was unambiguous, Musharraf was not going to be a holier-than-thou “Mr Nice Guy” any longer, “join the mainstream of civilization or “bug” out”. One revelled in the dressing down Musharraf meted out but felt sorry for the recipients since they had braved the anger of the extremists to attend the event in the first place. Shell-shocked, they have been left in limbo between a rock and a hard place even though the CE’s message was mostly meant for the rather militant extremists who were not present. Such militants, who are in a minority, are out of sync with real Islam, a moderate religion preaching peace and harmony.
