The author is an Advocate of the Supreme Court and can be reached on Twitter @zfebrahim
Unfortunately, Iron Man is only a fictional character in Marvel comics. After months of playing hide and seek and facing arrest, on March 31, Musharraf finally arrived at the Special Court constituted to try him for treason. Five charges of issuing unconstitutional and illegal orders to subvert the Constitution and committing high treason were read out to one of Pakistan’s longest serving army chiefs. It does not take much imagination to appreciate what must have gone through Musharraf’s mind as he stood alone in court listening to the charges of committing high treason.
The punishment under the High Treason Act, under which Musharraf is charged, is life imprisonment or death by hanging. However, the indignity of being hauled up in a Special Court and made to answer charges of subverting the Constitution, which he had sworn to uphold, must have been no less suffocating. It’s a far cry from March 24, 2013, when Musharraf decided to return to Pakistan after what he considered was growing support on his Facebook page.
Now, almost every one of his allies in power during 1999-2007 has absconded from his side. The rank and file of the PML-Q, the party Musharraf gave birth to, now swell the ranks of Nawaz Sharif’s PML-N and Imran Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf. His supporters, it seems, exist only in the online world. For months, Musharraf has had to seek refuge in a hospital and feign illness to avoid indictment, but to no avail. The famed long arm of the law is nearer than he ever dreamed.
Musharraf’s fate now rests in the hands of the man he promised he would never allow to return to Pakistan. Yes, Mian Nawaz Sharif. In 1999, Sharif’s government was sacked in a military coup led by Musharraf. Sharif was locked up in the Attock Fort, famed for its torture chambers and inhumane jail conditions, until he gave in and agreed to leave for Saudi Arabia with his family.
Today, Musharraf’s arch-enemy is not only the prime minister (PM) of Pakistan, but has the opportunity of recasting himself as Pakistan’s new statesman. PM Sharif has openly acknowledged the folly of supporting military intervention in the past. Gone are the days of horse trading in politics. Instead, we have seen Pakistan’s political parties respect their opponent’s mandate. In Balochistan, where the PML-N has the largest number of members in the provincial assembly, the chief minister is from the opponent nationalist party. In Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, despite the JUI-F’s prodding, the PML-N sensibly resisted the urge to cobble a coalition and deny the PTI its mandate and sole platform in forming the provincial government. Despite many failures, democracy is beginning to mature.
The decision to allow Musharraf to travel abroad to visit his 95-year-old ailing mother may be in the interest of more people than meets the eye. The armed forces will be saved from the embarrassment of watching their former army chief behind bars. It’s an unnecessary distraction at a time when they need to focus on the Taliban threat. PM Sharif will get to proclaim himself as the lion-hearted statesman –– Musharraf did not allow me to attend my father’s funeral, but I am a bigger man and will not stoop to his level. The PPP can claim credit for honouring the commitment made by its leadership in 2008 to provide safe passage to Musharraf, if not the constitutional immunity they had promised. The PTI also can bury the irritating past in which its leadership proclaimed unconditional support for Musharraf’s 1999 coup. Barring a few ultra-right-wing television anchors, most of the country will heave a sigh of relief to see Musharraf go.
However, Musharaf should not be allowed to go without making at least one promise; that he will never again make decisions based on support on his Facebook page.
Published in The Express Tribune, April 3rd, 2014.
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COMMENTS (19)
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Musharraf didn't come back only on his facebook page please stop this. He came back to fight back the political cases against him.
Let's get this lie be exposed first, President Musharraf did not deny the Sahrifs the possibility to accompany and participate in their father's last rites. Fact is it's was their own political decision to stay away because they wished politicizing and gaining political mileage even from their old man's dead body and wanted the occasion to bargain, negotiate removal of their agreed & negotiated self-exile. If Musharraf did not budge from his end of the bargain, I think, it was his choice which anyone has in any 'agreements' signed by two parties.
the brighter side over the horizon is that no usurper of constitution will dare venture this path..usurpers of the constitution are a thing of the past...dictatorial tendencies will now only prevail in democratic structures where regimes flourish on lineage (Sharifs, Bhuttos, Gandhis, etc.)
A pragmatic and well worded write up. Musharraf truely cuts a sorry figure.........he had eight full years and today he is reaping the fruit of NOT doing what he should have done.
@Hammad: His fans have not abandoned him. They support him in this tough time and pray for his safe and respectful exit. There are many ways to support someone and praying with sincere heart is the biggest of all.
Mostly I agree with the writer that his continued presence in the country is a distraction from bigger challenges facing the country. PM Sharif should show magnanimity & pardon Musharraf when & if found guilty of the charges. That's the way forward in a democracy !
@Motiwala: What about his 1.6 million facebook followers who abandoned him? Why haven't they shown up from all over the world to support him? Pakistani politicians are evil but Musharraf's supporters are all angles?
While I think that Musharraf did a lot of good during his time in power (the derailing of so-called 'democracy' aside), he is paying the price of arrogance. He could have gotten out of the country around the time of the elections when he realized that his arch-enemy was sailing to victory.
Instead he decided to rub the "a military general is above everything" card in the politicians' faces - there's only so much the army can do to save face without openly accepting that it's above the law. And ironically, the free media that Musharraf gave life to is the one that is playing the most active in his downfall.
I concur the writer on his statement, the Gen. should be allowed to leave the country. If they want to indict him, they should also charge the whole team of politicians who played a pivotal role in keeping him there. Why can't our system be just? Concurrently their are multitude issues on Pakistan's hands, the cardinal being dealing with TTP.
Author writes "The armed forces will be saved from the embarrassment of watching their former army chief behind bars.". Why would Army feel embarrassed, if some one from Army did sth against the Law and he is being prosecuted in court of law as per constitution, then what is wrong? Is Mushraf above the law? What about respect of rule of law, justice and democracy? I am sure, our Armed forces wont intervene to save some one's skins only because one used to work in Army. Let's all demand that either poor or rich, civilian or army commits any wrong doing, s/he will be tried irrespective of his affiliations and status. Respecting the rule of law is way forward for Pakistan.
One can only agree with you. Brilliant closing by the way....
Why he is not apologizing? If he is allowed to go abroad without any apology and promise to live low, his 1.6 million fake and insincere Facebook followers will persuade him to return again.
Just a tired old general who misread every thing. Should never have come back. There is no loyalty among thieves politicians. Every one abandoned him.
In principle, Musharraf needs to be jailed for committing treason against the state. How else does the nation send a message to other would be dictators or the Taleban that attacking the government and taking over by force of gun will not be tolerated. On the other hand, I agree with your article. Musharraf is a spent force who has only embarrassed himself more than anything by listening to sycophants who told him that he was loved. The few cyber supporters of Musharraf couldn't show up to welcome him or support him outside the court. Most Pakistanis just wish he would go away and disappear since his lost decade is over and Pakistan has moved on to become one of the few functioning democracies in the Muslim world. So your analysis is spot on.