Musharraf’s treason trial
Former military ruler Pervez Musharraf’s treason trial has
been meandering along since it was instituted in December 2013 with no end in
sight. Musharraf is charged with the ultimate crime against the state for
imposing a state of emergency on November 3, 2007. It has suffered delays ever
since for a variety of reasons. Eventually, it came to a standstill when
Musharraf left the country in 2016 and never returned despite being summoned by
the special court hearing the case. As a result, he was declared an absconder. At
first Musharraf had cited security concerns for his reluctance to appear before
the special court. Now his counsel has stated that the former military dictator
is willing to return and appear before the court but his health is preventing
him from travelling to Pakistan. Musharraf has refused the suggestion to record
his statement via video link. He claims he wants to return and record his
statement personally but is constrained from doing so because of ill health. It
is incumbent for the court to record the accused’s statement under Section 342
of the Criminal Procedure Code so that he can mount his defence against the
charge of treason. After hearing Musharraf’s counsel, the special court ordered
the formation of a commission to travel abroad and record the former military
dictator’s statement. The composition and scope of the commission has yet to be
determined. Musharraf’s counsel told the media he would wait for the written
order of the special court regarding the commission before seeking instructions
from his client to challenge it before the appropriate forum. The trial could
face another delay since the special court head, Chief Justice of the Lahore
High Court Yawar Ali is due to retire on October 22, 2018 and the trial
proceedings have been postponed till November. That means a reconstituted
special court will have to proceed from then on anew.
It is clear from the track record of the treason trial that
Musharraf has been finding one excuse after the other to avoid returning and
facing the serious charge against him. Reports speak of his frail health of
late, but it is public knowledge that he has been politically and socially
active for years after going into ‘exile’. During this period of relative good
health, he made no effort to return, instead offering one excuse after the
other to avoid it. It was when the special court ran out of patience with his
dilly dallying tactics that he was declared an absconder with the suggestion
being mooted that his identity card and passport should be cancelled and he
should be arrested and brought back with the cooperation of the Gulf
authorities. None of this ruffled the former dictator’s feathers though. Now it
remains to be seen whether the commission ordered by the special court comes
into existence without inordinate delay and is able to pin down the elusive
accused in his ‘lair’ for the required statement.
Military dictators in our history have never been brought to
justice for their heinous crime of violating the Constitution through
overthrowing civilian governments and perpetuating their rule until one or the
other set of circumstances forced them out. Our first dictator Ayub Khan was
ousted as a result of a countrywide months long agitation in 1968-69 that
brought army chief Yahya Khan to power in his stead. Yahya fell after the East
Pakistan debacle but was only declared a usurper by the Supreme Court after he
had left office. General Ziaul Haq was killed in an air crash while still in
power. Now Musharraf has been playing ducks and drakes with the justice system
to avoid paying the potential penalty for violating the Constitution. Pakistan
still awaits a violator of the constitution being brought to justice, but don’t
hold your breath.
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