NEWSWEEK: Have you been in contact with General Musharraf and other military leaders since the coup? BHUTTO: I have tried to establish contact with them, but they have yet to return my calls. I hope they would move on to democratization. That is the main message I wish to convey.
Did you have a relationship with General Musharraf when you were in office? We actually had a working relationship with him. I have an assessment of him as a person who is not a [Muslim fundamentalist]. I think he is a good man–he is moderate, he is courageous.
Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif apparently was warned by Washington that a coup was possible. So why did he interfere with the military? Only he can answer that question. But Washington kept bailing him out. In 1998, there was a lot of disquiet among the armed forces over the unceremonious removal of their chief. But Nawaz was perceived to have the backing of the international community, and he survived.
When you were prime minister, did you have complete control–or any control at all–over the nuclear program? There is no political control of what actually happens inside [the program]. When I asked to visit the nuclear facility, nobody said no, but the visit was stalled.
If you had an opportunity to govern again, what would you do differently? A lot of things. I thought that if I adopted the foreign-policy agenda of the Islamists, they would leave me alone to run the internal antipoverty programs that we had in mind. But we ended up losing the sympathy of liberals [inside and] outside Pakistan and getting booted out by the fundamentalists. So, one of the critical lessons I have learned is: be true to what you are… [We must] create a liberal parliament. Parliament is dislocated from ordinary people. Women don’t get in, minorities don’t get in, professionals don’t get in. If you have a parliament of the urban elite and the ruling elite, you don’t have a parliament of the people.
Have you been in touch with Washington this week? I have not been. I have tried to be in touch with Washington, but it wasn’t to be. I have asked friends to try and see what the readout in Washington is, because there are two ways Pakistan can proceed. There might be an election, in which case I do have a role to play, and I will go back and do that. On the other hand, I would defer any role for myself if there were some sort of [political] hiatus that was backed by the international community.
Specifically, what is the most useful role you think Washington can play right now? I think Washington must encourage the [prompt] return of democracy. Two or three years is too long. Three months is what we would prefer–three months, to see what can be done.
