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American Morning
Interview With Mansoor Igaz
Aired October 29, 2001 - 10:18 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: Again, as we mentioned before the break, the Pakistan president, Pervez Musharraf, faces pressure from within over his support of the U.S. led action. As a civilian death toll slowly climbs, so does the public anger in parts and possibility, again the possibility of that unrest boiling over. Let's turn to our analyst on Pakistani issues, Mansoor Ijaz, also a member of the council on foreign relations. Sir, good morning to you.
MANSOOR IJAZ, PAKISTAN ANALYST: Good morning, Bill.
HEMMER: What I hear from the Pakistani president, almost every interview, is that he wants this military action to end quickly. It may not happen that way. And we are getting more indications that it may not and go much longer than a lot of people optimistically, anyway, thought it would. If that's the case, what happens on the ground in Pakistan?
IJAZ: Well, I think the most important thing to watch for will be the reaction of these Islamic radical groups. The general has tried very hard during the past two weeks to contain that problem by putting under house arrest some of the leaders of these radical groups and so forth. I think that the larger problem he faces is trying to help the nation galvanize its position because Pakistan is a very diverse country and the intellectual people at the top of that society are very firmly behind him on trying to wage this campaign against terrorism because it could certainly come and hurt them internally in the country as well.
HEMMER: I would think at points that's easier said than done. How do you do that on the ground?
IJAZ: Well, they're -- so far what they have tried to do is allow the rallies and some of these demonstrations and things of that nature to take place. Encouraging as much as they could the possibility of having those done peacefully. Where they have gotten out of control, they have been very careful not to bring the army out into the streets. They've actually only brought police and the riot police, if you will, out so far. I think the point at which this becomes a real problem is if the general has to bring the army out into the streets to contain and control this type of activity.
HEMMER: There are a few other issues I want to tick off here. Over the weekend, reports that more Pakistani men crossing the border to help join the fight with the Taliban. How serious is this, and do you have a good indication of how many people have gone?
IJAZ: Well, first of all, they tried to get across, but the Pakistan army stopped them from crossing the border yesterday afternoon. And in the first convoy they had about 10,000 -- 12,000 people. I think these numbers are not going to be so relevant as it is that the border along Pakistan and Afghanistan could become so porous that the army would not be able to stop it. There again becomes the problem. If the army has it turn on its own citizens, that's when you know Pakistan has a real problem on its hands.
HEMMER: Indeed. There was a brutal attack over the weekend too, in a Catholic church in Pakistan, 16 people killed. I think the leaders of the country called them "trained terrorists." Is this an indication, possibly, of a widening issue on the ground as well?
IJAZ: Yes, this is what I referred to as the Arabization of this conflict. The people who, in all likelihood, who are behind these types of acts, are people whose purse strings and whose instruction sets are coming from abroad and that is really what the problem is that Pakistan faces. That in the process of the radicalization of the country taking place, the Arabization of the conflict has really become a serious problem for them to deal with.
HEMMER: In general, Mansoor, how is Pervez Musharraf doing right now?
IJAZ: I think on a technical level he has done magnificently so far, quite frankly. The real problem that we have to watch out for is how hard do we push him and at what point do we sever him from his own apparatus, both the intelligence apparatus and the body of the military that he is responsible for running. That is what we have to be careful for. And I think the president is sensitive -- President Bush is very sensitive to those problems in trying to help him out.
HEMMER: Fascinating stuff and a lot more to talk about. Mansoor Ijaz, with us in Washington. Thank you. We'll talk again, OK?
IJAZ: Thank you.
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