Musharraf’s return

Pervez Musharraf should be made to face trial for the murder of Akbar Bugti and shredding the Constitution.

General (retd) Pervez Musharraf’s return to Pakistan, after over four years of self-imposed exile, conclusively showed one major difference between a dictatorship and democracy. When General (retd) Musharraf himself was in power, he humiliated Nawaz Sharif and deported him from the country after the PML-N leader tried to return; now that General (retd) Musharraf has done the same, the democrats have not only allowed him back but have also provided him with security. This was a consideration that the dictator never gave to politicians he disliked.

Moreover, the lacklustre reaction to General (retd) Musharraf’s return was entirely appropriate. Nothing would have wounded the proud army man quite as much as the apathy with which he is now regarded. There were more journalists than well-wishers at the Karachi airport, which is exactly how it should be. General (retd) Musharraf is now an irrelevant sideshow in Pakistani politics, someone whose coverage in the international media is in inverse proportion to the influence he actually wields. His political party, the APML, is made up of just himself and a few of his old cronies. One hopes he runs in the upcoming elections only so that it is proven that there is no nostalgia for the Musharraf era.

However, just because General (retd) Musharraf is irrelevant, does not mean that he should be forgotten. The judiciary should take a keen interest in his return. He should be made to face trial for the murder of Akbar Bugti and his many other assorted misdemeanours. Above all, he should be held accountable for shredding the Constitution. The precedent which would be set by putting a former military dictator on trial could deter future adventurers from their dreams of coups. The Supreme Court could also use the Musharraf case to prove to its doubters that it holds no water for the military and is interested only in providing disinterested justice. We are still paying the price for Musharraf’s years in power so it is only appropriate that he suffer too.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 26^th, 2013.