On June 3, in my column entitled ‘Know your worth, General’, I had suggested that the prime minister follow the instructions given by the Supreme Court and advise the attorney general to initiate legal proceedings. I had also expressed my apprehension that if the prime minister did not do so he might be in violation of his constitutional responsibilities.
For more than 50 years, a grade-22 man with a 2-foot stick under his arm has regularly been holding the nation hostage and insulting/ridiculing elected leaders. A prime minister was falsely implicated in a murder case, tortured for two years and hanged and buried without even allowing his wife and children to see the dead body.
Another prime minister (who has, through fate, again come to power) was overthrown, handcuffed, put in jail in Attock Fort and sentenced to life imprisonment, escaping the death penalty only thanks to a brave and honest judge. He was then forcefully banned abroad for 10 years. As divine retribution would have it, the dictator who initiated this is now in jail himself and facing charges of treason.
The prime minister is under domestic and foreign pressure to show leniency and many of Musharraf’s former stooges are creating a hue and cry for him to be let off the hook. Some are suggesting a ‘forgive and forget policy’, while others are forecasting a doomsday-like scenario if he is tried for his misdeeds. The prime minister has taken a just and right decision to let justice take its course.
Musharraf should be made to answer for all his deeds. If found innocent, he will go free; if guilty, he will have to pay the price. This decision by the prime minister is as bold and far-reaching as the one he took 15 years ago, when he opted for nuclear tests against all domestic and foreign ‘advice’.
As soon as the old attorney general had been replaced by a competent new one – Munir A Malik – I had the feeling that the treason case against Musharraf would be carried through to its logical conclusion and that he would be tried for his crimes.
I am shocked by the behaviour of Ahmad Raza Khan Kasuri who is supporting and defending Musharraf without any reservations. He is even trying to frighten us with the thought of evil spirits coming out of the Pandora’s box, of a revolution, of military intervention, etc. I don’t remember ever hearing him mention the possibility of such occurrences to Ziaul Haq or Musharraf as a consequence of their deeds.
The moment Mian Nawaz Sharif announced in the National Assembly that he was allowing the case to proceed, many intellectuals, political analysts, sycophants and protégés of Musharraf let loose a barrage, in their reckonings, of all imaginable evils that would occur. Some warned the public of a military takeover while others spoke of opening a Pandora’s box and letting Gog and Magog loose. Some are talking of an endless process of accountability from Ayub Khan down to Musharraf, involving armed forces, officers, judges, bureaucrats and politicians. They also demand prosecution of all Musharraf’s friends, colleagues, civilian rulers, etc.
Some object to the starting of legal proceedings while the country faces loadshedding and a law and order situation, making it sound like the honourable judges have a choice between producing electricity and patrolling the streets and dispensing justice.
Let the legal process take its natural course! It is always the leader, the instigator, who is responsible for the mischief done and he should be the first to be taken to task. The honourable judges know all the ins and outs of the law and the constitution and will deal with the matter accordingly.
We have all just heard how a mighty billionaire and former PM of Italy, Berlusconi, has been jailed for seven years and barred from holding any public office on grounds of a moral offence.
The former president of Israel is in jail; the former president of Germany had to resign, and is now facing criminal proceedings, for accepting that his businessman friend paid 400 euros for his hotel bill; the former president of the BJP was jailed for taking a paltry Rs4,000 to Rs5,000 bribe in the purchase of small arms for the police. And let us not forget the case of the military dictator, Gen Cromwell, whose skeleton was taken out of his coffin and hanged for treason. Since then, nobody has ever dared stage a coup in England.
Now here we have a dictator being sent to face the court for his deeds, resulting in an enormous hue and cry and “patriotic” Pakistanis warning us of a disaster. Some time ago I read in the papers that the US had allocated $50 million for ‘training’ our media people. When I hear so many people from various media singing the same song, I very much fear that this money is having its ‘desired’ effect – almost all like canaries singing the same song after eating the same seed.
It looks like we are under severe and painful divine chastisement for the wrongdoings of our rulers and our people. There are very clear and unambiguous Divine edicts about the dispensation of justice. For example, in Surahs A’raf (24:29), Nahl (16:90), Shuuraa (42:15), Maida (5:42), Nisaa (4:135) and Maida (5:9), the Almighty has given clear commandments for this. I am sure the honourable judges of the judiciary are fully aware of these edicts and will dispense justice to Musharraf without fear or favour.
Email: dr.a.quadeer.khan@gmail.com
Dr. A. Q. Khan, "Treason trial," The News. 2013-07-08.Keywords: Political science , Government-Pakistan , International media , Mass media , Political leaders , Judicial process , Decision making , Supreme court , Judiciary , PM Mian Nawaz Sharif , Gen Musharraf , Munir A. Malik , En Zia ul Haq , Ahmad Raza Khan , Gen Cromwell , United States , Pakistan , England , BJP