'Reform Is a Long Process'.(Gen. Pervez Musharraf, Pakistan)(Brief Article)(Interview)

Gen. Pervez Musharraf snaps shut a folder with a letter from Taliban leader Mullah Omar and sighs. "Everyone thinks I am the only person they can talk to," he says with a smile. He's right: in Pakistan, he and the cadre of generals who seized power in the October 1999 coup are the sole arbiters of power. Musharraf's critics carp that he's done too little to fix Pakistan, while his admirers say that his honesty and sense of purpose are the best Pakistan can hope for, given the country's vexing array of problems. In his Army chief of staff office in the city of Rawalpindi, Musharraf spoke to NEWSWEEK's Zahid Hussain and Carla Power about his country's need for change.

On his plan to hold elections in 2002:

We are committed to the transfer of power. But if you think our reforms can be completed by 2002, I say certainly they can't. The restructuring we're carrying out is a long process. It will continue for years--maybe 10 or 15 years. The [goal] is to put reforms in place, set the direction right and then ensure that nobody reverses the process. I'm very sure that by 2002, we will be able to set the direction right. We will also ensure a set of checks and balances at the top wherein nobody will be able to reverse what we've done.

On religious extremists:

Ninety percent of the people in this country are moderate and tolerant. The [extremists] only constitute about 5 or 10 percent of the population. They are not a serious threat to this government or to stability. They are an irritant. Pakistan is a moderate Muslim state. I'm a Muslim. [Gesturing at a general on a nearby couch] He's a Muslim. He may pray five times a day, and I may have a different approach, but the voices of the moderates are not heard. We have to let these voices be heard. We haven't taken on these [extremist] groups head-on. We could have a shoot-out, but that is not our strategy. I don't want to be distracted from our main goals of restructuring Pakistan's economy.

On madrassas as breeding grounds for extremism: