Emerging Pakistan with Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf.
President Musharraf speaks to students and diplomats about the future of Pakistan. Among the topics he addresses are: efforts to build economic programs for growth, the threat posed by terrorism and religious extremism, and fostering democratic movements. He also responds to questions from the audience. Sehba Musharraf, first lady of Pakistan, introduces President Musharraf and talks about the status of women in Pakistan.
Pervez Musharraf, currently the President of Pakistan and the Chief of Army Staff of the Pakistani military. He took power on October 12, 1999 after a coup d'etat and assumed the title of President of Pakistan on June 20, 2001.
Bio
Jill Kasle
Marshall, The George Washington University
President Pervez Musharraf
President Pervez Musharraf occupied, what TIME Magazine described as "the most dangerous job in the world," playing a crucial role in the global war on terror. President Musharraf has
survived two assassination attempts; rooted out militants in his own government; helped direct countless raids against Al Qaeda - both in his cities and in the mountains; and tracked Osama Bin Laden with technical and human intelligence. His astonishingly revealing memoir, In the Line of Fire, chronicles his struggles for the security and political future of his nation, with high stakes for the world at large.
At the start of his presidency, political restructuring was one of the four areas of focus for his government.
He began examining why democracy remained dysfunctional in Pakistan and addressed the core malaise. He empowered the people of Pakistan at the grass roots level through a local government system, which did not previously exist; the women of Pakistan were empowered by gaining reserve seats at every tier of
the Parliament; multiple private TV channels were allowed for the first time in the history of Pakistan, and the electronic and print media began operating independently of the government.
Following the September 11th terror attacks, the United States sought President Musharraf’s support to fight the Taliban. With a vision for a modern, democratic, non-fundamentalist Islamic Pakistan, President Musharraf was one of America’s greatest allies in helping to fight the Taliban.
In the course of his seven years at the helm of affairs in Pakistan, President Musharraf traveled widely all over the world and met many prominent leaders, and many of those leaders came to Pakistan and interacted with him. Such top-level interactions allowed him to develop a sense of the geo-strategic
realities of the world, and various conflict regions. It also crystallized his views and perceptions of key world issues. President Musharraf articulated one such thought to bring harmony into distraught regions in the form of a "strategy of Enlightened Moderation". This captured the imagination of the West in particular, and was adopted by the Islamic World for Enlightened Moderation.
President Musharraf has a vision for Pakistan, and still believes that it is a nation that has all the resources, the potential and all the human capability to be transformed into a progressive, moderate, and prosperous Islamic State.
Begum Sehba Musharraf
First Lady of Pakistan
Stephen Joel Trachtenburg
Stephen Joel Trachtenberg, 68, became the 15th president of The George Washington University on August 1, 1988. He came to GW from the University of Hartford (CT), where he had been president for 11 years. Before assuming the presidency of Hartford, Trachtenberg served for eight years at Boston University as vice president for academic services and academic dean of the College of Liberal Arts. Earlier, in Washington, D.C., he was a special assistant for two years to the U.S. Education Commissioner, Department of Health, Education and Welfare. He has been an attorney with the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission and a legislative aide to former Indiana Congressman John Brademas.
President Musharraf gives an emotional and powerful address surrounding the current state of Pakistan and the country's efforts for growth and democratization. He and his wife demonstrate efforts to abolish discrimination against women, rebuild the country's travel infrastructure, the economy and offering an affirmative action system in business for minorities and women. They were very personable and have a great sense of humor.