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| Musharraf was once almost court-martialled | | |
NEW DELHI, OCT. 9:
If the Indo-Pakistan war had not erupted in 1965, the fate of Parvez Musharraf could have got sealed--he in fact would have found it impossible to be where he is at present. Hard to believe, but true: Musharaf was once almost court-martialled.
Pakistan President, Pervez Musharraf, says in his autobiography that towards the middle of the year 1965, he was a 'young gentleman officer in the Pakistan Army', and wanted to take six days of leave and go to Karachi. Coupled with two Sundays, the leave was working out to eight days. He says that his then commanding officer rejected the application for leave on the ground that it was too long an absence, but a hot headed Musharraf decided that he would go nevertheless.
Javed Ashraf Qazi, one of his seniors, who later became Pakistan's Railways Minister, phoned him and asked him to return to his unit immediately. Musharraf refused, and only returned to his unit in the Changa Manga Forests after the eight days, only to face a "ballistic" commander who decided to "initiate court-martial proceedings against me".
Musharraf's candid revelation: "What saved me was the war of 1965, when India attacked Pakistan on all fronts and strafed a passenger train, killing many civilians. The Indian attack came on September 6. The war lasted for seventeen days and ended in a cease-fire sponsored by the UN Security Council. My performance in the war earned me recognition and an award for gallantry".
Musharraf says in his book that his commanding officer had little choice but to change his opinion about the 'fiery young officer that I did well in the war'. He adds: "I should have been decorated with two awards for gallantry, but instead I received one award and the dismissal of the court-martial proceedings. I was promoted to the rank of captain soon after".
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