The writer is a senior anchor at Capital TV and a fellow at Harvard University Asia Centre. She tweets @NasimZehra
Musharraf’s arrival proved every bit the nightmare all had dreaded. Politically more aware, Pakistan was not benign towards a former military ruler. Simultaneously, proliferating dialogue platforms prompted questioning beyond Constitutional parameters: aren’t Musharraf’s colleagues in the PPP and now in the PML-N cabinet; why overlook Musharraf’s original sin of the October 1999 coup; the government seeks dialogue with killers of 50,000 Pakistanis, yet pursues Musharraf’s trial.
Although unlike previous military rulers, Musharraf was charge-sheeted under Article 6, appeared in court and kept under house arrest; he was treated with kid gloves. While political leaders with lesser crimes have been jailed, treated as criminals and even hanged, the GHQ eventually appropriated Musharraf and kept him under its protection at the Armed Forces Institute of Cardiology. The army has since sought a road map for Musharraf’s exit, as have PML-N pragmatists like Shahbaz Sharif and Chaudhry Nisar.
Unsurprisingly, disagreement between PML-N’s pragmatists and political activists has persisted even over trying Musharraf. Echoing the government’s earlier decision, Information Minister Pervez Rashid had said in my programme that “if the government has to choose between stopping a dog from stealing milk or preventing our child from drowning, it would save the child.” He had been asked about the government’s response to the lawyers’ petition filed in the Supreme Court that the government be asked to file treason charges against the former military ruler under Article 6. The minister was clear that we would “politely” state our priorities to the Supreme Court, i.e., not to get entangled with the treason case. But then, the government calculated that trying a former military ruler would boost its democratic credentials.
The Special Court’s March 31 order seems to have set the stage for Musharraf’s departure from Pakistan. After charge-sheeting Musharraf under Article 6 and allowing him to speak in his own defence, the court was adjourned till to April 14. The court order read as a sympathetic interpretation of the law. Charged under Article 6, Musharraf was a free man and the court would also consider his plea for absence from subsequent hearings. On Musharraf’s request to visit his mother in Dubai, the court order stated that removing Musharraf’s name from the ECL was the government’s prerogative.
Despite the court order, the prime minister refused to remove the former military ruler’s name from the ECL in “public interest.” Why take responsibility for what could politically backfire –– must be the thinking prevailing among PML-N activists. Let the court ‘bell the cat’ they must argue, since Musharraf’s team is taking the case to higher courts. PML-N pragmatists, too, must realise that allowing Musharraf to travel abroad on a higher court’s order would be politically risk-free for the government.
It is unlikely that the government will block Musharraf’s legal route to travel abroad. His return, too, would then be the court’s responsibility. If Musharraf leaves on a one-way ticket, the government will have made no compromises in trying a military ruler.
Meanwhile, in Pakistan’s political history, March 31 will go down as a day when an unprecedented accountability of a military ruler was initiated. Avoiding the anarchy and bloodshed of the horrifying Egyptian brand of what is paradoxically called the Arab Spring, accountability of a military ruler has been initiated in the precincts of a court. More importantly, outside the court, the political verdict on the touchstone of democracy has long declared the former general a loser.
Published in The Express Tribune, April 4th, 2014.
Like Opinion & Editorial on Facebook, follow @ETOpEd on Twitter to receive all updates on all our daily pieces.
COMMENTS (12)
Comments are moderated and generally will be posted if they are on-topic and not abusive.
For more information, please see our Comments FAQ
Miss Zehra writes well but recklies too much on gossips and speculation about the motives of the military and the civilian leadership behind the events which involve Parvez the indicted man who was once a military commander and even the ruler of the country. Bacha Sakka was a better king of swat and even introduced printed currency on leather. There is a bif list of crimes that Parvez bin Musharaf is accused of including the murder of BB, the terrorist atte tack on Lal Masjid, the disappearance of many thosands from Peshawar to Baluchistan and the covert swearing of allegance to the Congress of a foreign country. How on earth the intelligent lady expect the democraticaly elected legitimate Government Of Pakistan or a sensible military chief of staff plan exit of this notorious accused in the history of Pakistan without the involvement of the Judiciary. What is at stake is not the legitamacy of the Government or the integrity of Pakistan military, but the fundamentals of Pakistan constitution and its Laws.
Rex Minor
"Political verdict on the touchstone of democracy has long declared the former general a loser". Maam, have some sense of fairness when writing your opinions. When has Musharraf even been allowed to participate in politics? He was barred from the elections unconstitutionally as all fair minded legal experts say, and he has been charged in fake politically motivated cases ever since he came to Pakistan. If anything the democratic process is the loser.
It is deplorable how those who claim to be guardians of democracy are happy to trample all over it to stop Musharraf from participating in the political process, and their media backers keep mum on this travesty. Musharraf is not a political failure as this writer claims, he has not been allowed to participate in it from day one when he landed in Pakistan. How can you call a player a failure when he is not allowed to even enter the playing ground? His first julsa was disallowed by the administration and then he was entangled in one fake case after another, all to keep him from showing his popularity. If this writer and her political partners really want to prove Musharraf a political failure then end the fake politically motivated cases and let the people decide - besides that is what true democracy is.
The man was leader of the nation for almost a decade and we all accepted him for it. Most of us had no qualms about his dissolution of the constitution. This country underwent a decade of progress in the face of daunting odds and we were all happy to be enjoying the benefits. And now the man stands accused of something we all accepted him for and that too for almost a decade. It is shameful that when he needs us to at least raise our voice against the phony case against him, we all sit unperturbed and indifferent.
The man was leader of the nation for almost a decade and we all accepted him for it. Most of us had no qualms about his dissolution of the constitution. This country underwent a decade of progress in the face of daunting odds and we were all happy to be enjoying the benefits. And now the man stands accused of something we all accepted him for and that too for almost a decade. It is shameful that when he needs us to at least raise our voice against the phony case against him, we all sit unperturbed and indifferent.
Mashraff Saab the people of Pakistan are with you.. Long live Mashraff.
Any one who cannot see the difference between the Mashraff government and the following governments must definitely deserve the pain they have been going through the last 7 years.
Constitutions which cannot feed people , cannot give justice are not worth the paper they are written on. We need more dictators like Mashraff who will have the courage to hunt the corrupt judges, zardaris, and nawaz,s
The people of Pakistan are with you.. Long live Musharaf.
Any one who cannot see the difference between the Musharaf government and the following governments must definitely deserve the pain they have been going through the last 7 years.
Constitutions which cannot feed people , cannot give justice are not worth the paper they are written on. We need more dictators like Musharaf who will have the courage to hunt the corrupt judges, zardaris, and nawaz,s
Musshrraff was army chief before 2008 and now he is leader of political party and hv to face legal issues. If present gov not take legal action against him than in comming days how country run on rule of law? Gov as well as SC not to allow to fly fm country to see his mother who is admitted in hospital of Sharjah (uae)
March 31 would go in our history as a day of infamy, a day of our collective national shame and a day of betrayal when a great Pakistani who served his country for 50 years of his life got indicted for alleged treason by the same people who are guilty of calling murderers of Pakistanis, both civilians and in uniform, as friends & brothers. What a tragedy and what an irony that a former Chief of our brave & dedicated military is put on ECL and kept hostage while the terrorists of TTP who beheaded our soldiers & played football with their heads are released by our government. Today, all of those who still have an iota of shame and slightest sense of honor must raise their voice against this act of national disgrace. I condemn this regime and think they are a shameless lot and must be rejected.
Nothing will go down in history until he is behind bars.Analyst make this March 31 sound like a big deal just cause everyone is so scared for the miltary