KARACHI: General (retd) Pervez Musharraf’s entry in Pakistan has resulted in a lot of wagging tongues. I am quite amused to see so many educated people express glee that General (retd) Musharraf will be tried for all his crimes and that he will end up in jail, just like so many civilian politicians have over the years for their misdemeanours. This, in my belief, is naivety of the highest order.
The fact is that not one army chief in Pakistan’s blighted history has been tried or convicted of his crimes. Field Marshal Ayub Khan and General Musa Khan badly messed up the 1965 war and brought Pakistan close to oblivion. Yet, they were allowed to retire peacefully. In fact, General Musa Khan was rewarded with the governorship of West Pakistan and then Balochistan. Yahya Khan, that prince of incompetents, lost the erstwhile East Pakistan and was responsible for the ignominious defeat in the 1971 war. Yet, he was buried with full military honours and got a 21-gun salute. The fundamental fact is that army chiefs and senior military officials will always be protected in Pakistan no matter what. We should prepare ourselves for the day when General (retd) Musharraf flies out of the country on a jet belonging to some Arab prince.
Osama Khan
Published in The Express Tribune, April 25th, 2013.
