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Journalism of Courage
The British and American media insistently walked readers down the road from New Delhi to Islamabad. With profuse curtain raisers, backgrounders and spot reports, they tried to track the nuances of the encounter between the 8216;8216;ultimate odd couple, the general and the poet8217;8217; NEW YORK TIMES. Or as Britain8217;s FINANCIAL TIMES saw them, 8216;8216;a Pakistani general and a Hindu nationalist8217;8217;. So, back from the brink, at last, in the region that remains frozen in the western imagination in Bill Clinton8217;s apocalyptic description of it? The Most Dangerous Place In The World!
Its reports from Islamabad had hailed the 8216;8216;extraordinary turn8217;8217; and 8216;8216;new chapter8217;8217; in Indo-Pak relations. But the NYT editorial struck a more guarded note. 8216;8216;The invocation of history may be premature8217;8217;, it cautioned against Musharraf8217;s well-publicised exclamation at the press conference after the agreement was announced. India and Pakistan have been here before in 1999. But, both leaderships do deserve credit. For 8216;8216;drawing back from the edge8217;8217;. By 8216;8216;yielding somewhat8217;8217;. This time, suggested the NYT, peace is a more serious and lengthy process.
But the stirrings of peace, who dunnit? The NYT pointed to Musharraf and cited the assassination attempts that have 8216;8216;strengthened his resolve to fight the radical Islamists8217;8217;. Or did his opponents step up their attempts because of his 8216;8216;growing seriousness about reducing their influence and reconciling with India8217;8217;? And Vajpayee, who seems eager to run a national campaign on a 8216;8216;peace platform8217;8217;. THE DAILY TELEGRAPH credited it to the 8216;8216;psychological and financial strain of confrontation and outside pressure, particularly from Washington8217;8217;.
Amid the pacy commentary, the GUARDIAN edit stood out for its unhurried measure of things. With all the caveats and qualifications, it sighted 8216;8216;a tremendous opportunity8217;8217; to be 8216;8216;energetically and steadfastly pursued8217;8217;. Vajpayee and Musharraf must be determined not to be driven back. And both must watch their backs. The 8216;8216;mutual sensitivity8217;8217; that characterised the slow build-up to Islamabad must be maintained. Vajpayee is strongly placed to do so, with an economy that is doing well, international prestige and a good chance to win a re-election. At 79, he has the power, the paper said, and the motivation.
And Musharraf has come a long way from Kargil 1999. Kashmir remains close to his heart, but 8216;8216;8230; the need for peace grows more pressing. Mr Vajpayee agrees. All in South Asia, and beyond, will hope they can deliver8217;8217;.
Khaki survivor
BUT everyone8217;s looking at the general. While post-Islamabad punditry identified personal vision and leadership and intimations of mortality on both sides, as well as the shared geo-political pressures, the even-handedness soon wore thin. The general agreement was: Musharraf is under greater pressure. He has taken the greater risk. And yes, on him rests the greater onus for peace.
They lingered on the Christmas Day attacks on Pakistan8217;s General. 8216;8216;After bombing, Kashmir talks gathered speed8217;8217;, analysed the NYT. Citing unnamed Pakistani officials, it said that even India8217;s hardliners have understood that the General might offer the 8216;8216;last best chance8217;8217; for a deal. The assassination attempt, it said, may also have confirmed Pakistan8217;s decision to end its support for the jihad in Kashmir. It brought about a new realisation in Pakistan8217;s leadership, articulated by Musharraf in a recent speech, that 8216;8216;homegrown extremism8217;8217; is the main enemy. Probably for the first time, a western diplomat in Islamabad told the NYT, a Pakistani leader described a greater threat to the country than India.
NEWSWEEK profiled the man 8216;8216;Riding The Tiger8217;8217;. It wished him luck. Because, as Pakistani businessmen told the magazine, he stands between Pakistan and chaos. Because, 8216;8216;without Musharraf, the Kashmir conflict would likely heat up again8217;8217;. Because of Pakistan8217;s nuclear arsenal. Because those prosecuting America8217;s war on terror must be spared a new worry. Because, as Peter Preston wrote in the GUARDIAN, 8216;8216;Pakistan is the frontline of 2004, with only one lonely almost ex-soldier guarding the gate.8217;8217;
It8217;s been an especially hectic outing lately for the General in the western media. Only days ago, the US media was agog with revelations about Pakistan8217;s role in nuclear arms proliferation. That followed earlier US leaks about secret Pakistani links to al Qaida.
Conservative WASHINGTON POST columnist Jim Hoagland, who keeps an alert eye on this region, declared a 8216;8216;new official US willingness to identify, publicise and deal with Pakistan as the world8217;s most determined proliferator of illegal nuclear weapons technology and design8230; US officials speaking on background are now spelling out details of Pakistan8217;s involvement in Iran, North Korea and Libya.8217;8217; British-US diplomats and politicians will have their hands full in Pakistan in the new year, was his prediction.
Mind the comma
AND in times when events regularly overtake vocabulary, a book on punctuation is a best seller. Lynne Truss8217;s Eats, Shoots and Leaves: The Zero Tolerance Approach to Punctuation has become this year8217;s No. 1 bestseller in Britain, forcing its startled publishers, who ordered a modest initial printing of 15,000 books, to increase the print order to 510,000.
The book debates the use of the comma, refers to the apostrophe as 8216;8216;our long-suffering little friend8217;8217;, argues the semicolon8217;s usefulness in8216;8216;calling a bunch of brawling commas to attention8230;8217;8217; It is dedicated to 8216;8216;the memory of the striking Bolshevik printers of St Petersburg8217;8217;. Who 8216;8216;in 1905 demanded to be paid the same rate for punctuation marks as for letters and thereby directly precipitated the first Russian Revolution8217;8217;.
