Musharraf verdict: Opposition hails victory of democracy, Constitution

PML-N, PPP welcome special court ruling against former military ruler

ISLAMABAD: The major opposition parties on Tuesday welcomed the special court verdict in the high treason case against former military ruler Pervez Musharraf, calling the ruling a victory of the democracy and the Constitution.

PML-N Secretary General Ahsan Iqbal said that for the first time the superiority of the Constitution was taking root in Pakistan, while PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari repeated his party’s earlier stance that “democracy is the best revenge”.

Soon after the verdict was announced, the PML-N, which initiated the treason trial when it was in power in 2013, issued a statement, saying that Tuesday’s special court judgment had written a new chapter in the history of Pakistan.

The reactions come as a three-member special court handed death penalty to Musharraf in the treason case. The former president has been convicted of abrogating the Constitution and imposing an emergency in the country in 2007.

“With this momentous verdict, the court has blocked any future attempts to abrogate Pakistan’s Constitution,” Marriyum Aurangzeb, the PML-N’s information secretary, said in the PML-N statement. “A new era of the people’s right to self-govern and supremacy of the Constitution will ensue after this decision.”

PML-N secretary general Ahsan Iqbal hailed the decision, saying the decision by the special court would break the precedent of abrogating the Constitution. “Had this judgement come 50 years ago, the black-tradition of martial law would not have been set and East Pakistan would still be with us.”

Shortly after the verdict was announced, Bilawal tweeted: “Democracy is the best revenge. Jiye Bhutto.” Bilawal, who was in Ghotki on Tuesday, also told reporters that the party would “read carefully” the detailed verdict, once it was issued.

Democracy is the best revenge. Jiye Bhutto pic.twitter.com/L4wLEjUJTl

— BilawalBhuttoZardari (@BBhuttoZardari) December 17, 2019

“We are hopeful that now, after this democratic verdict, our courts will continue to issue democratic rulings. After this verdict, we can hope that our courts will side with justice and democracy for all days to come,” he added.

Responding to a question about the other accused in the case, the PPP chairman told reporters that “there is a lot of debate … we should talk about what is in front of us … It is a historic decision.”

The PPP chairman, who had earlier said he considered Musharraf the “murderer” of his mother, lamented that several cases, including that of the Benazir Bhutto murder case, were still pending in courts and demanded that they also be picked up as well.

Bilawal also hailed the bails granted to PPP leadership, including his father Asif Zardari, aunt Faryal Talpur, and party leaders Khursheed Shah and Agha Siraj Durrani. “All the players of the PPP are out now, we will struggle together and this government will go home soon,” he said.

Other PPP leaders also hailed the verdict. Senator Sherry Rehman said the party had always accepted the court decisions, whether it agreed with them or not. “We believe the court should also take up the cases of Shaheed Benazir Bhutto and Shaheed ZulfiKar Ali Bhutto,” she added.

Senior lawyer and PPP leader Aitzaz Ahsan claimed that the former military ruler committed treason twice. “It would have been more appropriate if the verdict of the October 12, 1999 case was given first. That is when Musharraf arrested the prime minister and disrespected the law.”

When asked if Musharraf was given a fair trial, Aitzaz said: “He was given a fair trial. He is the one who ran away. Musharraf’s case and its verdict is historic. The court played its role and did what the law says,” he added.

Opposition Senator Mir Hasil Bizenjo welcomed the decision. “Pakistan needed this verdict. Today’s decision proves that there is rule of law in the country,” he said.