SC order on Nov 3 actions illegal: Musharraf

Musharraf says the court decision declaring his state of emergency unconstitutional was passed without trial.

KARACHI:

Former president Pervez Musharraf has said the Supreme Court’s order declaring his November 3, 2007, actions unconstitutional is illegal since it was passed without any trial.

Appearing at the Express News programme To The Point, he said Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry’s nullification of former chief justice Abdul Hameed Dogar’s validation of the 2007 state of emergency was unacceptable as well.

Talking about the high treason petitions being heard by the SC, Musharraf reiterated his stance that the court cannot take up this case. “It is the responsibility of the government,” he maintained. The former president, however, said he would not shy away from any trial.

“I shall face the proceedings in the SC and wait to see how it goes. I knew that I would be tried in the courts. I will fight these cases legally.”

Talking about his disqualification by election tribunals, Musharraf said he was disappointed by the decision. He maintained there was no justification for his disqualification.

“I have never taken a loan in my entire life. I did not violate any law. I paid all my bills and taxes. No one can be held responsible without a trial.”

Musharraf maintained he returned to Pakistan to give the country a third force in politics.

“Imran Khan should understand this… Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf will not be able to get a simple majority in the upcoming polls on its own… If Imran does not understand this, the status-quo will continue,” he stressed.

Meanwhile, talking about his party, the All Pakistan Muslim League’s (APML) election campaign, Musharraf said 110 tickets for National Assembly seats and around 200 tickets for the provincial assembly seats had been issued. He claimed several of the candidates had strong chances of winning the seats in the upcoming polls.

The former president did admit that his party had faced several handicaps upon his return. “I expected I would have to face the Benazir and Bugti cases, but here I have been disqualified from four different constituencies,” he noted. He also held up security threats as a hindrance to his plans.

“I had been banking on using my personality to curry some favour from APML candidates… But I cannot move around freely [due to threats] and that has affected my party badly,” he maintained. He strongly condemned the attacks on Awami National Party leaders as well.

Musharraf denied any deal brokered by the Saudi royal family paved the way for his return.

The former president also claimed people in Pakistan were concerned less about democracy and more about amenities such as water, power and gas, and low prices. He maintained the only two good periods for Pakistan’s democracies were under military rule – under Field Marshal Ayub Khan the first time and under his own rule the second time. 

Published in The Express Tribune, April 18^th, 2013.