Time to let Musharraf go
Barring a few ultra-right-wing television anchors, most of the country will heave sigh of relief to see Musharraf go.
The author is an Advocate of the Supreme Court and can be reached on Twitter @zfebrahim
General (retd) Pervez Musharraf’s indictment for treason has broken many hearts. On his Facebook page, one of his 1.6 million supporters proclaimed, “I love you Sir more than words can say. Please leave this country and never come back. I wish I was Iron Man, I would have taken you and flown far away.”
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.
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.