Pakistan’s military ruler Pervez Musharraf has fallen from Washington’s good grace, reports The Times of India correspondent from Washington.
“President Bush, who called Musharraf his ‘tight buddy’ couple of years ago, has decided to send him an ‘unusually tough message’ over his failure to deliver results in the war on terrorism, the New York Times reported on Monday, quoting unnamed senior administration officials.
“Cheney, considered the hardliner in the administration most capable of delivering tough messages, is evidently the hatchet man in this case.
“US officials suggested that Bush will use a new law passed recently by the Democratic Congress, making aid to Pakistan contingent on its action against terrorism, to turn the screws on Musharraf.”
While the NYT report states: “Just hours after Vice President Dick Cheney delivered a stiff private message to President Pervez Musharraf in Pakistan, the Pakistani government lashed out Monday with a series of statements insisting that ‘Pakistan does not accept dictation from any side or any source’.
“The unusual outburst, later toned down, revealed the depth of tensions between General Musharraf and Washington over what administration officials say have been inadequate efforts by Pakistan in combating Al Qaeda and the Taliban.
“ ‘There is a growing consensus that our Pakistan policy is not working,’ said Derek Chollet, a fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington who estimates that over the past five years the United States has sent $10 billion in aid to Pakistan — and perhaps as much in covert funds.
“Mr. Musharraf alluded to those payments in his recently published memoir, in which he wrote, ‘Those who habitually accuse us of ‘not doing enough’ in the war on terror should simply ask the C.I.A. how much prize money it has paid to the government of Pakistan.’ When asked about that assertion, C.I.A. officials have declined to answer.”
Meanwhile a Reuters report states that a suicide bomber killed at least 10 people on Tuesday in an attack on the main U.S. military base in Afghanistan where Vice President Dick Cheney was visiting after an unannounced visit (after making a surprise visit to Pakistan).
“U.S. officials said Cheney was not hurt in the blast — which took place outside a gate at the sprawling Bagram Airbase, about 60 km (40 miles) from Kabul — but a U.S. soldier died.”
Swaraaj Chauhan describes his two-decade-long stint as a full-time journalist as eventful, purposeful, and full of joy and excitement. In 1993 he could foresee a different work culture appearing on the horizon, and decided to devote full time to teaching journalism (also, partly, with a desire to give back to the community from where he had enriched himself so much.)
Alongside, he worked for about a year in 1993 for the US State Department’s SPAN magazine, a nearly five-decade-old art and culture monthly magazine promoting US-India relations. It gave him an excellent opportunity to learn about things American, plus the pleasure of playing tennis in the lavish American embassy compound in the heart of New Delhi.
In !995 he joined WWF-India as a full-time media and environment education consultant and worked there for five years travelling a great deal, including to Husum in Germany as a part of the international team to formulate WWF’s Eco-tourism policy.
He taught journalism to honors students in a college affiliated to the University of Delhi, as also at the prestigious Indian Institute of Mass Communication where he lectured on “Development Journalism” to mid-career journalists/Information officers from the SAARC, African, East European and Latin American countries, for eight years.
In 2004 the BBC World Service Trust (BBC WST) selected him as a Trainer/Mentor for India under a European Union project. In 2008/09 He completed another European Union-funded project for the BBC WST related to Disaster Management and media coverage in two eastern States in India — West Bengal and Orissa.
Last year, he spent a couple of months in Australia and enjoyed trekking, and also taught for a while at the University of South Australia.
Recently, he was appointed as a Member of the Board of Studies at Chitkara University in Chandigarh, a beautiful city in North India designed by the famous Swiss/French architect Le Corbusier. He also teaches undergraduate and postgraduate students there.
He loves trekking, especially in the hills, and never misses an opportunity to play a game of tennis. The Western and Indian classical music are always within his reach for instant relaxation.
And last, but not least, is his firm belief in the power of the positive thought to heal oneself and others.