General Pervez Musharraf Quotes from His book In the Line of Fire a Memoir

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Quotes from General Pervez Musharraf, President of Pakistan, in his book In the Line of Fire:

"The events of December 2003 put me in the front line of the war on terror and are part of my reason for writing this book now, while I am still fighting.”

“I have confronted death and defied it several times in the past because destiny and fate have always smiled on me.”

“Our fuel was so low that we would have crashed had the army not taken control of Karachi airport. The nearly fatal confrontation with the prime minister brought me to power.”

“Before I reached class 10, at the age of 15, I had been an above-average student, usually among the first four in my class. That year, however, my grades dropped dramatically. The cause: my first romance. Truth to tell, she made the first move. I was still too shy to initiate a romance, let alone woo a girl.”

“There is little doubt that A.Q. was the central figure in the proliferation network, but he was assisted over the years by a number of money-seeking freelancers from other countries.”

“I can also say with authority that in 1999 our nuclear capability was not yet operational."

"Considered purely in military terms, the Kargil operations were a landmark in the history of the Pakistani army."

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"The Indians, by their own admission, suffered over 600 killed and over 1,500 wounded. Our information suggests that the real numbers are at least twice what India has publicly admitted."

"I would like to state emphatically that whatever movement has taken place so far in the direction of finding a solution to Kashmir is due considerably to the Kargil conflict,"

"It was in Forman Christian College (in Lahore) that I learned how to make a time bomb, which I later used as a commando to good effect,"

There was a mango tree next to a hedge at the hostel's periphery. "Thanks to my gymnastics, I could climb the tree and jump over and across the high hedge. So would some of my friends."

"It was nexus between Bhutto and small coterie of rulers that destroyed Pakistan. The myopic rigid attitude of (Bangladeshi leader) Sheikh Mujibur Rehman did not help matters and he played into Bhutto's (Gen) Yahya (Khan's) hand by remaining rooted in East Pakistan",

"My troops were brimming with confidence and we were all set to go when the ceasefire was announced and East Pakistan was forcibly torn away from us to form the separate state of Bangladesh. It was terrible day.

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"When I was telling my troops about the ceasefire the surrender of our 90,000 personnel, (military and civilian) came about," "Blame ultimately fell on the army. As events developed Army was confronted with an impossible situation--mass popular uprising within and an invasion from without by India supposedly non-aligned but now being overtly helped by Soviet Union under a treaty of peace and friendship. It was actually an alliance of war",

"on the other hand our long time ally, USA, apart from making sympathetic noises and winging its hands was nowhere to be seen".

"No army in the world can sustain such a multidimensional threat. Nonetheless, the operational handling of the troops by the army's senior leadership was simply incompetent. It brought avoidable disgrace to the army. Pakistan was cut into half".

"With the army completely bogged down in quelling the insurgency in (East Pakistan), India stabbed Pakistan in the back by blatantly attacking it across its border on several fronts in East Pakistan on Nov 21, 1971"

The signing ceremony was scheduled for the afternoon (of July 17) in the hotel JP Palace where Prime Miniter Vajpayee was staying and where we held our dialogue.

Preparations in the hotel were complete, down to the table and two chairs where we would sit for the signing ceremony,"

Recalling his meeting with Vajpayee at 11 pm, the General says, "I told him bluntly that there seem to be someone above the two of us who had the power to overrule us.

I also said that today both of use had been humiliated. He sat there, speechless. I left abruptly after thanking him in a brisk manner."

"Vajpayee (had) failed to grasp the moment and lost his moment in history,"