Musharraf's return a fait accompli: Gilani

Most lawmakers sympathetic to former dictator's plea to return as Senate debates matter

ISLAMABAD:

PPP leader Yousaf Raza Gilani on Wednesday maintained that the return of ex-military ruler Gen (retd) Pervez Musharraf to Pakistan due to his “frail” health was not in the hands of the lawmakers as the decision would be made “somewhere” else.

A discussion on the former military strongman echoed in the Senate as lawmakers from both sides of the aisle expressed their opinions on the ex-president’s homecoming.

The former army chief, who ruled Pakistan for almost nine years, made the headlines again, after he had expressed his wish to spend his remaining years in Pakistan. Sources close to the ex-army chief had said that Musharraf wanted to move to Pakistan at the earliest. His family said it was impossible for him to recover.

The report was followed by a statement by PML-N supreme leader Nawaz Sharif wherein he had urged the new government to allow the former dictator to come back. It may be noted here that Musharraf had come to power after toppling the government of then premier Nawaz.

Similarly, the Pakistan Army spokesperson had expressed support for the return of the former army chief during a press briefing a day earlier.

Starting the debate, Jamaat-e-Islami Senator Mushtaq Ahmad Khan, referring to reports of bringing back the ex- army chief, said: “There are talks about allowing Musharraf to come back to Pakistan…Mian Nawaz Sharif has also issued a statement…The country and the Constitution suffered grave injustice but our hands are tied…we are practically slaves.”

He recalled that Musharraf was the absolute ruler of Pakistan for around a decade. “He abrogated the Constitution, attacked the judiciary... a former chief justice was dragged by his hair," the JI lawmaker added.

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The Peshawar High Court ruling is there, he said referring to a ruling by the late PHC chief justice, Waqar Seth. Justice Seth had sentenced Musharraf to death in a treason case.

Most lawmakers were sympathetic to the plea. PPP’s Gilani said if Musharraf wanted to come back, then Pakistan was his home. “We don’t oppose his return.”

However, he added that a similar treatment should be meted out to others as well.
The PPP senator said: “We [lawmakers] cannot decide [on his return]. These decisions will be made elsewhere. When he [Musharraf] flew out of the country, could you stop him…and now when he will be coming back, would you be able to stop it?”

Gilani added that he had forgiven Musharraf when he was still in Pakistan.

JUI-F leader Abdul Ghafoor Haideri too endorsed the ex-military ruler’s return. He added Musharraf was fighting for his life and should be allowed to come back. “It would not be appropriate to create hurdles in his return.”

PML-N Senator Irfan Siddiqui said a person on their deathbed should not be stopped from returning. “If not Pakistan, where else will he go,” he said, adding that if the law and the Constitution were strong then let them chart their course after his return.

PTI senator Ejaz Chaudhary also called for the law to run its course. "Pervez Musharraf or whoever went out of the country for treatment should come back and the law should then take due course." “The country would only grow if the rule of law was equal for all.”

PPP Senator Raza Rabbani agreed that Musharraf had committed several atrocities. "But if his health is not good and he wants to return to the country, there is no problem."

However, he added that he could not talk on behalf of his party. "Things are very different when a person has been convicted by a court under Article 6 of the Constitution [high treason]. It would be very inappropriate to give a state burial to such a person.”