Special court verdict against Musharraf received with ‘lot of pain and anguish’ by army: ISPR

Ex-army chief who served country for over 40 years, fought wars in its defence can never be a traitor: Asif Ghafoor

KARACHI: The military has angrily reacted to the conviction and sentencing of former army chief Gen (retd) Pervez Musharraf by a special court in a high treason case, saying that the verdict has been received with “a lot of pain and anguish by the rank and file” of Pakistan’s armed forces.

“The decision given by [the] special court about General (retd) Pervez Musharraf has been received with [a] lot of pain and anguish by [the] rank and file of Pakistan[‘s] Armed Forces,” the chief military spokesperson, Maj Gen Asif Ghafoor, said in a statement.

The statement issued on the official Twitter handle of the Director General of the Inter Services Public Relations (ISPR) came after an unscheduled huddle of top military officials at the General Headquarters, according to media reports.

Statement on decision by Special court about General Pervez Musharraf, Retired. pic.twitter.com/C9UAMT1E4W

— DG ISPR (@OfficialDGISPR) December 17, 2019

The huddle was convened hours after the three-judge special court — comprising judges of three high courts, Justice Waqar Ahmad Seth, Justice Nazar Akbar and Justice Shahid Karim — convicted Musharraf of treason and sentenced him to death.

“An ex-army chief, chairman joint chief of staff committee and president of Pakistan, who has served the country for over 40 years, fought wars for the defence of the country can surely never be a traitor,” Maj Gen Ghafoor said.

Musharraf, 76, ruled the country for nine years after he seized power from then-prime minister Nawaz Sharif in a coup in Oct 1999. He ruled first as the chief executive and then as the president until 2008 when the PPP was elected to power in the general elections.

“The due legal process seems to have been ignored, including constitution of [the] special court, denial of fundamental right of self defence, undertaking individual specific proceedings and concluding the case in a haste,” according to the ISPR statement.

It added that the armed forces of Pakistan expect that justice will be dispensed in line with Constitution.

Musharraf's conviction: 'Pakistan is changing – and for the better'

A senior cabinet minister has already said that the government believes the septuagenarian former military ruler has not been given “the right to fair trail”.

“Musharraf is the first man [in Pakistan’s history] to have been tried under Article 6 [of the Constitution]. And this government believes it will be unfair if all the steps in the criminal justice procedure are not completed against him,” Interior Minister Ijaz Shah said in an Express News interview last week.

“If you’re trying him [for treason], then there should be proper prosecution; he should be allowed to produce witnesses in his defence… the law should take its own course and all steps in the criminal justice procedure should be completed,” he added.

The high treason charge against Musharraf – who has been in Dubai since 2016 and was sentenced in absentia – stem from his imposition of a state of emergency in 2007 to quell a lawyers’ uprising against his rule.

The interior minister questioned the entire premise of the high treason case against Musharraf filed by the government of his old foe Nawaz in 2013 for subverting the Constitution.

Musharraf has been receiving treatment for amyloidosis, a rare disease caused by a build-up of an abnormal protein called amyloid in organs and tissues throughout the body.

Earlier this month, the former army chief called the treason charge against him ‘unfounded and baseless”. “Rather than treason, I have served this country, I have fought wars for it… [so] I consider this case baseless,” he said a video statement from his hospital bed.

He added that he had been denied the right to defend himself against the charge in the special court. “They [court] are not even listening to my lawyer, Salman Safdar,” he said. “This is a great injustice [to me],” he said.

He invited a judicial commission formed to record his statement to travel to Dubai and meet him. “They can come and hear me, see my condition and then decide for themselves. When they return they can give their statement and my lawyer will be heard in the court too and then I hope I will get justice,” he added.