Exclusive: India gave Musharraf a second chance, but his sins could not be washed away: Ex-envoy to Pakistan 

New Delhi, India

Pervez Musharraf, the former president of Pakistan, was laid to rest on Tuesday (Feb 7) in Karachi. What's left for India is his ambiguous legacy. In an interview with WION, the former envoy to Pakistan from 2017 to 2020, Ajay Bisaria, discussed how Musharraf, the former military dictator, had “a mind of a guerrilla," with surprise and deceit as his weapons.

Bisaria, who was also an aide to former Indian prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee during Musharraf years, termed him a "general who changed his stripes."

He stated how Musharraf, the architect of the Kargil war, was "humiliated" when Nawaz Sharif withdrew Pakistani troops from Kargil following a meeting with then-US president Bill Clinton.

Ambassador Bisaria said combination of factors prompted the military coup in Pakistan, led by Musharraf. 

At the time, he had suffered a twin blow: when Sharif named General Ziauddin Butt as the army chief and when he withdrew troops from Kargil.

Musharraf revolted and seized power.

A setback for India at this time was the 1999 swap of passengers from hijacked Indian Airlines plane in Kandahar, Afghanistan, with three notorious terrorists.

But interestingly enough, India decided to give Musharraf another chance, he added.

This time, the trio of Vajpayee, LK Advani, and Jaswant Singh met for lunch and agreed to “read the dictator's mind” by extending an invitation for him to visit India. But Musharraf once more “overplayed his hand about Kashmir” during his meeting. 

Once more, the peace initiative was derailed, the ambassador told WION.

Musharraf shifts gear after 9/11

Just a few months after the 9/11 attacks in the US, the Indian Parliament suffered a terror assault and India conducted Operation Parakram, a troop buildup against Pakistan.

Envoy Bisaraia said this prompted Musharraf to promise that Pakistan's territory would not be used against India.

When Vajpayee and Musharraf met in Srinagar in 2003, the envoy stressed that cross-border terrorism decreased and diplomatic ties grew stronger. But the diplomacy took place mostly out of public sight, he added.

Musharraf continued to meet with Manmohan Singh as the prime minister later in 2004. Another important step was the four-point strategy. But with the 2006 Mumbai train attacks, he “lost the plot with India,” the former envoy said. “His early sins could not be forgiven,” he added.

Musharraf and his “beloved homeland”

Ambassador Bisaria noted that both Musharraf's desire to recast himself as a politician and his ambition to become a general who might bring about peace remained unfulfilled.

On Musharraf's orders, Pakistani troops surrounded the Lal Masjid in Islamabad on July 3, 2007. It was a confrontation between Islamist militants and the Pakistani government. It gave rise to Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), which has led countless fatal attacks in Pakistan.

Musharraf's declaration of a state of emergency in 2007 was surrounded by controversy. He rendered dozens of judges dysfunctional and took oath as President. 

Musharraf resigned from his position in 2008 after the ruling coalition threatened to impeach him.

In 2013, Musharraf was once more preparing for elections, but he was forbidden and charged with treason. The former president requested one-time permission to go overseas for medical reasons. He departed for Dubai with a promise to return to his "beloved homeland." But the former military ruler never set foot in Pakistan again. He passed away from amyloidosis in Dubai on 5 February.

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