Former President Pervez Musharraf says that removing him from the post of Chief of Army Staff was a “blunder” on Pakistan Muslim League - Nawaz (PML-N) chief Nawaz Sharif’s part.
Speaking on the show “Frontline” on Express News, he claimed that even Shahbaz Sharif was not aware of this move and he had later informed Musharraf about it.
Recalling his tenure as army chief, Musharraf said he was on good terms Shahbaz Sharif and current Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan.
The former president said that while he was serving as army chief, he had told Shahbaz Sharif on several occasions to tell Nawaz Sharif to improve governance and work for the improvement of the economy.
The PML-N had earlier demanded that the government register a case under Article 6 (High Treason) against Musharraf for abrogating the constitution and dislodging the democratically elected government on October 12, 1999.
COMMENTS (87)
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@Maria
Yes an elected prime minister does have the right to fire COAS, but not by this stupid way by refusing landing of a plane carrying innocent 300 people, and diverting the plane to India. Does this make a sense? Is this the right way to remove a COAS?
Let me get this right- if an elected Prime Minister in a democracy removes a general it is a "blunder". Does Musharraf not know that in all democratic constitutions, an elected official has the right to remove a general? I agree with the commentators who say that Nawaz Sharif's biggest blunder was to make such a character as Musharraf the COAS without realising this man's intelligence or lack of it!
@khurram kaleem: You forgot to add that Mush can't be forgiven for bombing Akbar Bugti to death with "you won't know what hit you" and brutalities against the Baloch.
What people would like to say about Musharraf after reading the story of General (R) Ziauddin in today's local daily newspaper.
To read the complete story, please click the link below:
http://ummat.com.pk/2011/10/14/news.php?p=story1.gif
Pakistan is a democracy and people have the right to choose their leaders. If the majority want Musharraf in power so be it. However, we should not justify acts of deposing civilian governments and imposing marshal law. These are acts of treason and should be dealt with accordingly.
People who complain about elected governments should exercise their right to vote. If the majority vote with them then they will end up with their preferred candidates.
@k Salim Jahangir Karachi university's chancellor is current sindh governor installed by mushy!
I am not fan of Mr Mush neither i blindly support Nawaz Sharif. In principle Mush is grossly wrong to say it was blunder of then PM Pakistan Nawaz Sharif. It is not about personalities it is about constitutional roles. COAS is, and should remain under prime minister at all cost. We cannot allow Army ruling our country. Today, we all know Pakistan is run by Army which should be changed now. Enough is Enough.
Like Nawaz Sharif's some mistakes, Mr Mush had also made grave mistakes on which Kargil war is still on top. Who will pay for this Mr Mush.
Countries do not run on personal choices, they run on principles. Period!
Reading all comments upto " Ali Tanoli,18 hours ago" I am convinced that yes Pakistan is yearning for Mush and needs MUSH and he must come back. Good luck.
@A J Khan:Nice joke
It is our collective responsibility to choose sincere and visionary leaders such as General Musharraf. I wish Imran Khan and Musharraf support each other for a greater cause.
Whoever saves the country no matter how he does my vote is for him. Musharraf saved the country from the corrupt government. Musharraf defenately saved the country and put it on the right path by acting against terrorists whether hiding in Lal Masjid or elsewhere. I will support whoever works against extremists and corruption.
My country is secured if the looted money comes back to the country and the terrorists are thrown in the Arabian Sea.
All Above: It is time you send people with proper genes to the Military, breed well so that our future generations get proper COAS'. The conception has to be immaculate. Sow and germinate Now, lest it is too late.
WHat so ever i going to give Musharraf Another Chance And inshallah he will be right back in action
Imposition of emergency against his own government was even a bigger blunder of Musharraf.
Mashallah support for Musharraf is growing, which is good sign for the country. Probably people realizing their mistake by bringing fake leaders into power.
I see a few people commentig against Musharraf. Such people are good with corrupt and incompetent leaders, to see Pakistan going down. Musharraf introduced democracy at gross root, empowered women, stood up against extremists, librated from IMF, freed media, sustained GDP at above 7.0, reduced poverty to half, bulit infrastructure and so on. We need such honest and visionary leaders.
My vote is for Musharraf.
A democratically elected prime minister has every right to dismiss a sitting army chief. In recent history this has been done twice by U.S presidents Harry S Truman who removed Gen Douglas MacArthur in 1951 and Obama who removed Gen Stanley McCrhystal last year. In countries like Pakistan, generals consider themselves having unfettered powers which leads to bonapartist tendencies.
Those who are saying that Musharraf deposed Sharif, have poor knowledge of history, illiteracy, loss of memory or selfish vested interests. Even Gen. Butt's badges were fake and not issued from GHQ when Nawaz Sharif made him COAS while risking lives of over hundred Pakistanis.
For me the best thing Musharaf did for Pakistan was the freedom of press and allowing of so many TV channels. It is because of this that everybody can express his opinion freely. This will go a long way in making Pakistan independant and stand on its own feet. Shaikh Rashid who was the information Minister at that time should also be commended for this. People may not realize this now but history would remember him for this. like Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto is remebered for putting Pakistan on the road to become a nuclear power and giving every citizen of Pakistan the right to have a passport. this inflow of billion of dollars from foreign countries is because of that decision.
Just a small contribution... Just because something is legal does not mean it can't be a blunder. That is how laws change and evolve. Also, for all of Musharraf's negative traits and contributions it does not mean you should ignore the positive ones. You can incorporate his positive traits into something without bringing his negative along with all its baggage.
That can all happen without someone obtaining the label of someone who supports or rejects a candidate. It's called learning.
Musharraf was just another corrupt general who wanted to stay in power for ever. Right or wrong, the Prime Minister can remove the COAS.
Musharraf shot this country in the foot by not making new dams and power plants when we had the money . And now because of the power crisis and lawlessness all that economic progress of the past decade is gone down the drain.
Mush's statement shows the scorn and contempt of country's civilian laws and constitution. No paid govt servant should be above the country and its laws. According to him just like Qadri he was justified to take the laws in his own hands because he thought Nawaz Sharif was incompetent. In every democratic, civilized and modern countries the generals are told to follow orders and not make any decisions. Mush is a fugitive from law and the CJ should show courage to bring him to Pakistan and give Mush his day in court.
The whole world saw much higher level of Democracy than ever before taking root in Pakistan under the so called military dictator Pervez Musharraf from 1999 to 2007. Women Empowerment in highest national institutions. Media Empowerment. Basic Education for the forgotten millions of rural poor through his NCHD National Commission for Human Development program. And much more. He may be a military man but his heart and soul has always been for a better Pakistan.
@ishtiaer hussain: Musharraf was the international face of Pakistan and projected all that was wrong. Think about it: an illegal dictator ruling a nation that is supposed to be a constitutional democracy. Musharraf made the nation appear as backward as every other African and Arab country where illiterate masses need to be hered by some man with a gun. The damage he did to Pakistan's reputation is unquestionable. That's why we need to turn a new page and find a new leader to project an educated progressive image of a new Pakistan.
Musharraf should be tried under Article 6(1), and those who helped him overthrow elected government should be tried under Article 6(2). How dare this man say that the PM – of which, by the way, I am not a fan; but constitution is constitution – could not have fired him? Blunder? Aik chori ooper say seena zori. A day will rise in Pakistan when there will no pliant justice around, and generals like Musharraf will be punished. Pakistan Spring will happen. Siddique Malik, Louisville, Kentucky, USA.
Fortunately the Constitution of Pakistan is there but with few exceptions, most of the people do not what is the Constitution and what are their Constitutional Rights.
Like many other people, General Musharraf also does not know as what is the Constitution.
Had General Musharraf knew as what is the Constitution of Pakistan, he would have never thrown out the elected government of Nawaz Sharrif through a military coup.
Gneral Musharraf has said that “Removing me from COAS post was Nawaz Sharif’s blunder”, but General Musharraf does not know that the biggest blunder he made was to throw out an elected government at the gun point.
I don’t see any difference between an ordinary bandit and General Musharraf.
Now PML(N) is asking to frame treason charges against General Musharraf. If caught and tried in the court of law in Pakistan, General Musharraf could face death sentence.
@Noor: "Yes, he committed a blunder for exceeding his limits."
Firing a COAS is not outside the limits of Prime Minister in a Parliamentary democracy. Actually even the defense minister who is part of the Prime Minister's cabinet is able to make such a decision in India. Even in US, the general in charge of Af-Pak region was removed by Obama due to anti-administration comments in an interview.The army should come under civilian institutions in a true democracy.
The idea that army determines the foreign policy in Pakistan instead of civilian institutions has resulted in a lot of trouble in the past.
@ishtiaer hussain
Mushy did not managed economy well .when he took over we were close or better than India.when he left we were far behind india in 2007.
Also poverty level in pakistan is declining as per capita is increasing every decade for e.g since 1970 every 10 years USD 150 per capita increase is there.
so poverty will decline further in 2020 when our per capita will be USD 1500 .
Mushy ruined our economy making us non productive economy .there was no industrial nor agricultural out put growth in his tenure.The size of all major crops and harvest area remained stagnant.Only speculative business in housing property flourished converting fertile lands into plots.
it was the most miserable period in islamicand known history since independence.Pal accept it !
@Meekal Ahmed:
Good points. Add investment to GDP ratio to your list.
@ishtiaer hussain:
"Mushy was great when it came to economic management of the country. "
Musharraf and Shaukat Aziz used smoke and mirror to create an illusion of economic progress. All the numbers were cooked up. Any increase in GDP was due to unsustainable consumption based policies. The reason Pakistan is in such economically dire straits today is a direct consequence of Mush/Aziz smoke and mirror economic policies.
@Yasir Mehmood: You have seen a civilian VC awarding degree of Phd: to Rahman Malik,thats what they do.
@A J Khan: Public should be thankful to you for providing this information.One hopes the Chief Justice of Pakistan reads this & takes a note of it.
The biggest mistake Musharraf did was he spared Nawaz Sharif's life, should have hanged him long time a go.
@Natasha: Then Its Alright. I thought you're making a sarcastic note against my post (coz the Wrong word was in caps) :P
Pakistanis have very short memory. They have forgotten the movement in1999 against Nawaz Sharif & public chanting slogans on the roads "NAWAZ HATAO MULK BACHAO."His claims about robust economy during his period with only $400 million left in the exchequer are known to all & sundry.
If NS had not removed Musharraf, than Musharraf would have toppled him. Nawaz sensed that and took the action but Musharraf's Generals supported him. Musharraf had a fear that he will be removed for doing Kargil action without the PM's permission. So he was maneuvering to topple the elected government. There should be a treason case against Musharraf under Article 6.
Musharraf government provided VVIP level security to BB. Liaqat Bagh, the venue of the political rally, was completely secured with hundreds of policemen and commandos deputed. Who asked BB to open the sun-roof of the bomb-proof SUV and play the crowd outside Liaqat Bagh on the open road where suicide bombers were ready to blast themselves who failed to enter Liaqat Bagh because of stringent security arrangements? Why so much propaganda against Mush? Judiciary want to malign him so as to pay back PML-N for what they did for the restoration of PCO judges.
As you can read the opinions in this forum; Pervez Musharraf is a very divisive figure in our political history. There is greater need than ever before to look at his legacy in a balanced way. He made certain mistakes. But his intense focus on economic development, building lasting peace with India, higher education, foreign investment and media liberalization will go a long way to serve the ultimate interest of Pakistan. He is not responsible for terrorism in Pakistan (or bringing the US war to Pakistan). America or Afghanistan’s war, whatever you call it, has been brought by those forces who use Pakistan’s soil against NATO forces in Afghanistan and against Pakistani nation as well. If militants can cross over from North and South Wiziristan into Afghanistan to launch attacks on NATO forces, so does the US has the right to target them with drones. If we could have controlled these terrorists from staging attacks in Afghanistan, there would not have been any drone attacks. As for as Bugti’s murder is concerned, Pervez Musharraf did not want to kill Bugti in any way as he was killed along with 7 officers and soldiers (who went in to negotiate with him) due to the caving in of his shelter.
@Meekal Ahmed:
The single biggest achievement of Pervez Musharraf was to ensure a steep decline in the incidence poverty in Pakistan from 35 percents when he took over, down to 17 percents at the end of 2007. This finding had been cross-checked and validated by the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank (these are multilateral international institutions over which PM had no control so no need to dispute these figures). Now come up with your arguments as to how you believe there was no economic progress in Mushy's tenure. Would you now reject the facts and figures from international institutions as being fake and doctored, as most of the illiterate men typically do? If you find it hard to accept the reality, just bury your head in sand which is what we are very good at.
Pervaiz Musharraf's APML may not sweep the upcoming elections. But he feels that Pakistan is in dire conditions and the country needs his contribution once again. Much of our media and judiciary are anti-Musharraf. Even against such odds and the uphill task of making his mark on Pakistan's volatile politics, he is at least trying to improve things in Pakistan through his efforts. He believes that failure after a sincere effort is better than sitting idle and not trying at all. That is the spirit of a true soldier and of a professional commando.
Two things makes me laugh one when i see peoples endorsed Dictators in pakistan and second when some first leader visit Mangolia i dont understand for what??? what u guys think.
@ Abdur Rahman Khan Jehangir karamat was ambassador to US just after Mush came to power. So i guess karamat , Musharraf and two three more generals had prioritized power before ousting Nawaz. Plus, may I ask what was the logic behind appointing army people as head of national institutions, VCs of Universities and ambassadors?
nawaz Sharif was removed for right reasons. The act of Musharraf was validated by the supreme court of Pakistan which included present Chief Justice also.
Is consipracy exist in term of economic decisions????? and removal of govt in pakistan.
@Khurram Kaleem, Do not count who committed how many blunders,because the list of Nawaz is too lengthy.
Cosmo,
These 'so many Pakistanis' here are the facebook brigade that he thinks will help him come back to power!
Realist ,
Lol. No I was making a sarcastic comment at Musharraf. How dare a PM sack a general in Pakistan?
Blunderzzzzz!
NS actual blunder was to make you Army Chief. NS was also destabilising country by first attacking SC and then removal of Army Chief. After that Mushi's blunder of NRO was even more damaging than any other blunder. We dont want anyone of them, They are doing politics for themselves, just to enjoy the power. None of them is sincere with Pakistan.
@ishtiaer hussain:
Well I can challenge you point for point but this is not the place to do it.
Speaking of the stability of the exchange rate, have you seen a graph of the export-to-GDP ratio during his time?
Have you seen a graph of the import-to-GDP ratio?
The tax-to-GDP ratio?
These are key indicators of economic success. Who cares about high growth rates when you are making little if any progress (actually regressing) on these structural deficiencies in the economy?
Brave Ahmedi commando good in making U-TURN 360 Digrees and nawaz shrif democratic govt and B.B govt were much better than u dictators.
I am very surprised to see that majority is in favor of dictator who does not even know the value of constitution of Pakistan. Everyone is praising his economical boost but not peeping into the way how he stepped in to become Mr President. It means if tomorrow Imran Khan is elected than we ready to welcome Gen. kayani as dictator if he is better able to add inclination to economy on short term basis. Very funny.......
@Farz: Sad that a general calls his removal by an elected official a "blunder" when it is within the legal right of an elected PM. Tell me when Obama removed US General Chrystal was it a blunder or did Chrystal try to take over illegally? When will Pakistanis learn to respect the constitution? What Musharraf did would be termed treason in any country.
Allah has punished nawaz sharif for not making the person as army chief who was eligible , he was not loyal to his position as a prime minister by not promoting two senior generals as a army chief. Nawaz sharif should learn a lesson and not to repeat such kind of injustice just for his own benefits. I believe nwaz sharif will never come in power but still it is allah's who decide.
@Natasha: Emotions, You see :P
General, Kargil was your blunder. Why don't u admit? What did we achieve with Kargil? Can u elaborate on that someday maybe.
However, the way NS dismissed you was childish and extremely disrespectful. He could have done it in a better manner. He was PM and he could do it anytime but not the way he did.
Now, that is history, we need to move forward.
Yeah...how DARE he!?
The majority comments here indicate that people of Pakistan love dictatorships. Their choice "No Comments"
@Farz: It appalls me to see such comments from citizens of Pakistan who have with great difficulty installed democracy after a long struggle.
We agree!
To remove him was blunder, before and after.
Let us not forget the grand trickery that followed.
True Farz ... You already said my words ...
HOW dare you to challenge his Constitutional Powers ? He was the Prime Minister & had all the legal grounds to do that. The Only Blunder Nawaz Shareef Made was to make a person like you an Army Chief!
Musharraf "told Shahbaz Sharif on several occasions to tell Nawaz Sharif to improve governance and work for the improvement of the economy" and went for yet another military blunder, Kargil, with his fellow adventurists.
I wonder if SC would treat this as his confession that he actually was removed and he took actions after being removed from post.
His book in the line of fire has already been used by the SC in its decisions.
No doubt, it was!
NS removed CJ, and previous COAS without proper reason.
His such actions were causing De-stabilisation in the most significant organisations of the country;
Yes, he committed a blunder for exceeding his limits.
Blunder??? It's within the authority of PM to select or fire any COAS.No one is above law.In turkey and India, COAS get fired.But in Pakistan, The mighty forces don't care about Law and for them it is nothing but just piece of paper.Shame!
Not only a blunder but a blessing that paved way for us to prosper in Gen. Musharraf's tenure.
We urgently need to elect APML and Pervez Musharraf back in office as President to save this country from economic collapse and reduce corruption with the army's backing.