• Home
• /
• Opinion

Lost in translation

NEIGHBOURS Iran and Pakistan have been entangled in an unsavoury row that threatens their already strained relations. It all started with some innocuous remarks Pakistan’s President Musharraf made in an interview with Germany’s Der Spiegel weekly.

Now Iran has demanded an explanation from the Pak leader about the remarks attributed to him saying "Iran is very anxious to have the bomb". As an afterthought though Iran expressed its scepticism if Musharraf would have made such remarks. And it now turns out that it indeed was a classic case of harmless quotes getting lost in translation and given a new, dangerous spin. Musharraf’s office has issued a strong denial recounting what exactly happened during the interview. According to the Pak spokesman, when President Musharraf was asked if Iran was anxious to obtain a nuclear bomb, the president merely repeated the question posed to him and then said: "I don’t know."

Apparently, the German magazine messed up the translation of Musharraf’s direct quotes blowing the whole issue out of proportion. As the result of a case of reckless reporting, relations between the two close neighbours and until recently very good friends have taken a severe battering. This is perhaps why Charles Prestwich Scott advised journalists that comment is free but facts are sacred.

Iran is particularly sensitive to Musharraf’s comments partly because Pakistan is a close strategic ally of the United States and there’s a long history of Teheran’s troubled relationship with Washington. There’s another possible explanation for tension in Pak-Iran ties. Abdul Qadeer Khan, the father of Pakistan’s nuclear programme, is reported to have provided Iran with centrifuges used to produce enriched uranium fuel for nuclear power plants or arms. Last week, Pakistan sent some used centrifuges to the nuclear watchdog, IAEA, to confirm if Iran’s centrifuges came from Pakistan.

Now that the misunderstanding about Musharraf’s comments has been cleared, Iran and Pakistan would do well to put the whole episode behind them. Iran, already friendless in a hostile neighbourhood, cannot afford to lose the support of friends like Pakistan. Besides, the Pak leader made those comments to Der Spiegel with an intention to help Iran, not to add to its existing woes. To keep the record straight, Musharraf strongly advised his friend and ally America against undertaking any shortsighted adventure against Iran. The General warned Washington that any action against Iran would provoke a rebellion in the Muslim world. "Why open up new fronts?" Musharraf reasoned with his friends in the White House. These are words of a true friend who has Iran’s interests at heart. Teheran should see the big picture.