Musharraf’s Misery

 

 

The trial of retired president Pervez Musharraf is taking such a nasty turn that it seems necessary to examine the facts.

I shall refer to him as retired president Musharraf, as I believe that a man should be called by the last or highest post he held. In my opinion he seized to be a general as soon as he assumed the office of full-time chief executive or president of Pakistan. If he had obtained approval of Supreme Court of his time under duress for holding two posts, that judgment should be considered null and void and the justices should not be ashamed to admit it.

 

Let us reconstruct history in the light of the public statements of Mr. Musharraf himself.

Since he returned to Pakistan in March, 2013 he has repeatedly said that he is ready to face all legal and constitutional charges against himself. He promptly went to various courts to obtain bails in all the cases registered against him and on the 2^nd January, 2014 he was on the way to the judicial commission when his vehicle suddenly changed course and ended up in the military cardiac institute. The public has not heard from his own mouth that he was sick or is in pain. Is Mr. Musharraf a free man and is he taking his own decisions? Are his lawyers saying what wants to be said?

In August, 1988 when General Zia ul Haq had dismissed the Junejo government and fresh elections were called in which Peoples Party seemed favorite to win, questions were being raised if he could be tried for treason under article 6 of the constitution in spite of the 8^th constitutional amendment. He died in a military transport plane crash on 18^th August the same year and was saved the indignity of a treason trial. Could it be that this time the wolf actually showed up and the detour of his vehicle was actually a hijacking? Only the man himself can tell and a live television interview of retired president Pervez Musharraf has become overdue.

As for the case itself there are many possibilities. In his television speech he had said that he had declared emergency in the country. Did he really believe that the document he had signed was in line with the provisions of the constitution? Later he had admitted that what he did on that day was a mistake? We need to know exactly what had happened on that day, so that if there are any civilians who machinate military dictatorships and bring bad name to the armed forces, they may be exposed.