‘My father has never abused his influence’

When Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf’s son Bilal recently clashed with Sufi-rock band Junoon’s guitarist Salman Ahmed in cyberspace, it wasn’t the first time Musharraf Jr had jumped to his dad’s defence. In the article posted on chowk.com, the doting son wrote: “My father is a self-made man and I wish to state this up front that he has made a conscious effort to never abuse his influence for personal gain.”

Bilal wrote, “I say this unabashedly and as a matter of knowing that he has a reputation of being thoroughly professional. My immediate family has made do with the income of a military officer and there have been no complaints. There is only relief that he has made it this far without compromising his ethics.”

The US-educated Bilal also questioned the role of democratic ideals in Pakistan. “Democracy is an essential ideal, but let’s look into our souls and understand why it has not taken root.”

“What are the options? Back to a facade of democracy in the existing political structure?” he asked in the article which has had over a million hits so far. The chowk.com website described him as “an actuarial analyst” who is “an avid follower of South Asia’s socio-economic and geo-political reality”.