Musharraf unable to visit Pitt next month

Former president of Pakistan Pervez Musharraf, who was scheduled to come to speak at Pitt… Former president of Pakistan Pervez Musharraf, who was scheduled to come to speak at Pitt next month, is unable to give a talk because of a scheduling conflict, said Pitt Program Council executive director JJ Abbott, yesterday. Musharraf plans to be in Washington D.C. that day. The PPC-sponsored event, which was scheduled for Jan. 15 in the William Pitt Union Assembly Room, was going to be exclusive for Pitt students. Abbott said that Musharraf planned to discuss global affairs, focusing on Afghanistan and the situation between India and Pakistan. Abbott said that talks between PPC and Musharraf’s representatives, which had been ongoing for about one month, almost fell through before. ‘The first offer we got was $125,000. And we were like, ‘there’s no way we can do that,’ said Abbott on Wednesday. ‘But he had Jan. 15 open, and he really wanted to talk at colleges, so I think we got a very good deal on it.’ Before the recent announcement, Abbott said that PPC was ‘negotiating a very discounted price,’ though he could not disclose the exact cost. Musharraf plans to speak at Cornell University and UCLA, said Abbott.