Emergency plus: ‘Musharraf alone will be tried for treason’

Others had only followed his orders, Sanaullah says.

LAHORE:

“Former president Pervez Musharraf imposed a state of emergency on the country as a chief of army staff. He alone was responsible for his actions and he alone will be tried for treason,” Law Minister Rana Sanaullah told a press conference at the Punjab Assembly cafeteria on Wednesday.

Sanaullah said Musharraf’s attempts to implicate other people, who had previously supported him, was wrong. He said others had only followed orders he gave as a COAS.

He said Musharraf had also asked to be tried under military law but that was not possible on account of clear constitutional provision. “Article 6 of the Constitution is clear on the subject ... a three-member court will decide Musharraf’s fate,” said Khan.

He said some politicians including Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid president Chaudhry Shujat Hussain and Pakistan Awami Tehreeek leader Dr Tahirul Qadri were issuing statements demanding that all Musharraf supporters be tried alongside him. He said the “opportunists” were only trying to confuse the matter.

Asked to comment on Musharraf’s claim about support in the Pakistan Army, he said the media should have exercised restraint and not published the “shallow” statement. “Musharraf’s conviction by a trial court will be a victory for democracy, civil society and the country,” he said.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 2^nd, 2014.