‘Et tu Brute’ moment: Shujaat, Ejaz to testify against Musharraf
Ex-president denies allegations levelled against him in a statement with the police.
Former president Pervez Musharraf. PHOTO: FILE
ISLAMABAD:
In a scene right out of Shakespeare’s tragedy of Julius Caesar, top Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid (PML-Q) leaders Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain and Ejazul Haq on Monday signalled their willingness to testify against their former boss General (r) Pervez Musharraf.
As one-time close collaborators of the former president, their decision would be seen as an act of betrayal. And if and when their paths cross in the courtroom, the general would have his “Et tu Brute” (Even you, Brutus) moment.
Both Shujaat and Ejaz have promised Ghazi’s son Haroonur Rashid and the Shohda Foundation of Pakistan (SFP) that they were ready to record their statements against Musharraf with the police and the court, according to sources.
The former president is facing murder charges for allegedly ordering the murder of deputy cleric Abdur Rashid Ghazi and hundreds others in the Lal Masjid operation
“There were other witnesses as well, but these two leaders were key eyewitnesses as they were part of the government at the time of the operation,” a senior official of the SFP told The Express Tribune. Both men have offered “verbal assurances” that they would testify.
Meanwhile, the former president has denied all allegations levelled against him in statement recorded by the Islamabad police on Monday. Musharraf has also stated that he was the president, and the operation was carried out on the orders of the federal government, adding that there was no written evidence that linked him to the case.
Rashid was however about to nominate ministers serving in the government during that time, as co-accused in the murder case, along with the then prime minister Shaukat Aziz, Aftab Sherpao and Tariq Azeem, among others.
However, the police did not seem to be in a mood to take any statements against the former president as they dodged the complainant when he reached the police station with his counsel.
Station House Officer (SHO) Qasim Niazi left the police station while the complainant waited outside to record his statement. Hafiz Ihtisham, spokesperson for Rashid and the SFP, alleged that ASP Yasir Afridi ‘detained’ the complainant and his counsel when they tried to approach him for recording the statement.
Published in The Express Tribune, October 15th, 2013.
In a scene right out of Shakespeare’s tragedy of Julius Caesar, top Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid (PML-Q) leaders Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain and Ejazul Haq on Monday signalled their willingness to testify against their former boss General (r) Pervez Musharraf.
As one-time close collaborators of the former president, their decision would be seen as an act of betrayal. And if and when their paths cross in the courtroom, the general would have his “Et tu Brute” (Even you, Brutus) moment.
Both Shujaat and Ejaz have promised Ghazi’s son Haroonur Rashid and the Shohda Foundation of Pakistan (SFP) that they were ready to record their statements against Musharraf with the police and the court, according to sources.
The former president is facing murder charges for allegedly ordering the murder of deputy cleric Abdur Rashid Ghazi and hundreds others in the Lal Masjid operation
“There were other witnesses as well, but these two leaders were key eyewitnesses as they were part of the government at the time of the operation,” a senior official of the SFP told The Express Tribune. Both men have offered “verbal assurances” that they would testify.
Meanwhile, the former president has denied all allegations levelled against him in statement recorded by the Islamabad police on Monday. Musharraf has also stated that he was the president, and the operation was carried out on the orders of the federal government, adding that there was no written evidence that linked him to the case.
Rashid was however about to nominate ministers serving in the government during that time, as co-accused in the murder case, along with the then prime minister Shaukat Aziz, Aftab Sherpao and Tariq Azeem, among others.
However, the police did not seem to be in a mood to take any statements against the former president as they dodged the complainant when he reached the police station with his counsel.
Station House Officer (SHO) Qasim Niazi left the police station while the complainant waited outside to record his statement. Hafiz Ihtisham, spokesperson for Rashid and the SFP, alleged that ASP Yasir Afridi ‘detained’ the complainant and his counsel when they tried to approach him for recording the statement.
Published in The Express Tribune, October 15th, 2013.