ISLAMABAD -- Pakistan's military ruler, Gen. Pervez Musharraf, has launched a drive to improve his country's human rights.
Senior Pakistani officials are quick to note that the general, who seized power in a bloodless coup last October, may be the world's only military leader with a commitment to the protection of human rights. Musharraf himself is also eager to indulge in symbolism to support his claim to legitimacy.
It was therefore not surprising that Abdul Sattar Edhi, a well-known social activist who has spent more than three decades caring for the poor, was the keynote speaker at a government-sponsored seminar on "Human Rights and Human Dignity."