Pakistan: The General in his labyrinth

EDITORIAL: Daily Times

Latest reports in the drama surrounding General (retd) Pervez Musharraf speak of his being transported to police headquarters in Islamabad from his farmhouse in Chak Shahzad, where he had fled after the Islamabad High Court (IHC) refused to extend his pre-arrest bail on Thursday in the case of illegal detention in their residences of 60 judges of the superior judiciary after promulgation of the PCO of November 3, 2007 (the Emergency). After the refusal, the IHC ordered the arrest of Musharraf and asked the police to add the charge of terrorism in the FIR against Musharraf. However, police present in the court made no move to comply with the court’s orders. Musharraf’s security detail whipped him out of the court and transported him to his farmhouse in Chak Shahzad. The IG Police Islamabad was summoned for Friday by the IHC to explain why his officers were negligent in carrying out the arrest orders of the court and what, if any, action he had taken against them for dereliction of duty. Musharraf’s legal team attempted to file a pre-arrest bail petition in the Supreme Court (SC) but were unable to do so for lack of time. The hearing was expected on Friday. The incident left egg on the caretaker government’s face, despite the iteration by Federal Information Minister Arif Nizami that the court’s orders would be carried out, come what may. Although the latest development of Musharraf being taken to police headquarters promises the caretaker government has finally decided to put its money where its mouth is, the episode poses a challenge for the caretakers. Meanwhile the Chak Shahzad farmhouse may not remain available to Musharraf as a retreat and safe haven for long if the SC’s orders are complied with within three weeks by the Capital Development Authority (CDA). The SC has ordered that all the palatial homes built by the rich and powerful on farmland originally leased to persons displaced from Islamabad for purposes of agricultural cultivation be demolished since they violate the rules and regulations. Musharraf has clearly fallen on hard times. His arrival in Karachi did not evoke the teeming thousands of supporters he had dreamed of. His pre-arrest bail in some cases against him stands, while the bail in the judiciary detention case now hangs in the balance in the SC. He has been knocked out of the elections. To add to his woes, a petition has been moved in the Anti-Terrorist Court Quetta by Jamil Bugti to summon Musharraf in the Nawab Akbar Bugti killing case. In the Senate, members were apoplectic at the security and protocol being given by the caretaker government to Musharraf, complaining that at the same time security was being withdrawn from politicians arguably at risk because of Musharraf’s legacy, and the caretaker government was dragging its feet on charging Musharraf with treason under Article 6. The incensed Senators wanted to end the duality of law for civilians and those in uniform, as the treatment of Musharraf seemed to reflect, and for him to be administered ‘exemplary’ punishment. Musharraf’s ill-advised (from his own interests’ point of view) return to Pakistan has put the cat among the pigeons. The military is doubly embarrassed. It had reportedly advised Musharraf not to return, the latest such missive being dispatched just one month before the commando decided to conduct his latest ‘raid’. The military’s fears were for his security as well as the prospect of an ex-COAS being dragged over the coals in the courts. Although he has been provided what appears to be sufficient security by the government and his own guards to prevent any untoward development in the former apprehension, the latter one is being witnessed ever since he arrived. The military embarrassment can only be imagined in being caught in the bind of protecting their ex-COAS while being helpless to prevent the course of the law (in civilian hands). The fears of a military-civilian clash, in which if history is any guide, the latter may come out the poorer, may well be exaggerated. Times have changed. The very fact that an ex-COAS is being arrested is in itself a historic first and its significance given Pakistan’s history of military interventions and dominance cannot be understated. Whatever else democracy may or may not have delivered, it has made possible the grinding of the wheels of justice, which, as we know, grind slowly but extremely fine.