'Musharraf, Bhutto lacks commitment and political will'

ISLAMABAD: The lead singer of Pakistan's best known rock band 'Junoon', who has worked closely with President Pervez Musharraf and former premier Benazir Bhutto, says both lack commitment and the political will to get any real work done.

In a post on his website, Salman Ahmed, who is best remembered for his single "Sayonee", wrote: "On several occasions after September 11th, I was invited to General Musharraf's house in Islamabad and was surprised to see him even join me onstage in concert to help support a united national anti-extremist front.

"We (artists) had supported him for his promise of fighting extremism, bringing accountability into politics, opening up a free and independent media and reducing the immoral gap between Pakistan's rich and poor communities."

Ahmed, also known as the Bono of Pakistan, is disillusioned with Musharraf for imposing emergency, dismantling the judiciary and muzzling the media.

But he sees no saviour in Bhutto.

"The queen of hypocrisy and media manipulation, she has managed to hypnotise western liberal classes with her false claims to represent progressive elements in the Muslim world. Ms Bhutto is a charlatan and a false prophet of democracy," Ahmed wrote.

"During the late 1990s I recorded a song called 'Accountability' along with a music video that satirized Pakistani politicians like Bhutto whose corruption scandals were being reported in international publications.

"Her government's response was to ban the music video and threaten my life," he wrote, pointing out that the ban by Bhutto was no different from Musharraf's current bar on free expression.

Ahmed, who is also a UN goodwill ambassador, challenged Pakistan's hardline mullahs who have banned music in some parts of the country in a documentary "The Rockstar and the Mullahs".

He travelled across Pakistan and met mullahs in madrassas who had banned music and told them that music was not anti-Islam. His meeting with a Peshawar mullah called "Mullah Electricity", who thinks all women should be kept at home, was the highlight of the documentary.

Ahmed says the future of Pakistan lies with the lawyers and the judiciary. "Let's stand by their side and not surrender to the Pharaohs and the false prophets, whether they are clothed in a military uniform or a stylish Hermes scarf."