Tricky matter: PM consults aides on Musharraf travel restrictions

No decision taken on removing ex-military ruler’s name from ECL; PML-N’s senior members meet again today.

ISLAMABAD:

A day after the special court indicted General (retd) Pervez Musharraf on treason charges, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif consulted senior members of his party on whether or not to allow the former military ruler to travel abroad to seek medical treatment and see his ailing mother.

“No decision was taken. The matter will be discussed again today (Wednesday),” an official told The Express Tribune.

Most participants of the meeting – including Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan, Information Minister Pervaiz Rashid, Defence Minister Khawaja Asif, Finance Minister Ishaq Dar, Planning Minister Ahsan Iqbal and Senators Raja Zafarul Haq and Sardar Mehtab Abbasi – opposed the idea of giving concessions to Musharraf.  But the option is still under consideration.

After the party’s internal meeting, the premier met with army chief General Raheel Sharif. Later in the evening, former president Asif Ali Zardari also telephoned the prime minister and discussed the matter, although there was no official word on that.

Last year, the Sindh High Court had put Musharraf’s name on the Exit Control List (ECL), asking him not to leave the country without seeking prior permission from the concerned courts over his alleged involvement in several cases.

After the special court read out charges to him on Monday, Musharraf filed an application seeking removal of his name from the ECL so that he could travel abroad to seek medical treatment and see his ailing mother. The court, however, said it did not have jurisdiction over the matter and it was for the government to decide.

His new lawyer Dr Farogh Naseem subsequently filed an application with the interior ministry. Naseem told The Express Tribune that he was waiting for the government’s response and that he had several options. He would move the Supreme Court if the government did not respond favourably.

“It is more of a political decision and has minimal legal hurdles,” an interior ministry official told The Express Tribune. The government is perhaps weighing its options and possible repercussions of the decision, he added.

Some participants of Tuesday’s meeting believe that allowing Musharraf to travel abroad might give the impression that a deal was struck. “It would be difficult for the government to defend the decision,” said an official.

The members who opposed the move were of the view that punishing Musharraf for his unconstitutional deeds would serve as deterrence against violation of the Constitution in the future.

As the government is looking for a middle ground, some members floated the proposal of allowing Musharraf to travel abroad only if he tenders an apology.

Hours after the court indicted Musharraf on Monday, Defence Minister Khawaja Asif made a categorical statement in the National Assembly that the government would implement the court’s decision in letter and spirit and Musharraf would not be given preferential treatment. Asif even offered transport to Musharraf’s ailing mother from Sharjah to Pakistan via an air ambulance.


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