The senators on Tuesday asked the government to arrest former president Pervez Musharraf immediately after he lands in Pakistan and try him under Article 6 of the constitution, as Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Senator Raza Rabbani read out in the Upper House of parliament a long charge-sheet against the former military ruler.
“The federal government should register a case under Article 6 against Pervez Musharraf, who twice put in abeyance the constitution of the country and placed the judges under arrest. He is also involved in the Benazir murder case,” Rabbani said. He said Musharraf handed over Shamsi airbase to the United States without any written agreement and added that he was liable to be charged under Article 6. He said Musharraf should also be arrested in the Bugti murder case, Balochistan operation and missing people case.
Senators Raja Zafrul Haq, Abdul Malik, Zahid Khan and others also endorsed Rabbani’s stance and asked the government to register a case against Musharraf and arrest him as he was planning to come back to Pakistan. Endorsing Rabbani, Khalid Soomro said a case should also be registered against Musharraf for killings in the Lal Masjid and Jamia Hafsa operation. He also asked the government to take steps to improve law and order in Sindh. Speaking on a point of order, Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) Senator Prof Khurshid Ahmad asked the chief of army staff, chief of air force staff and the defence minister to do what was needed to stop US drone strikes, otherwise they would lose credibility as they had publicly vowed to do so. He also criticised the government for keeping silent on fresh drone attacks. Senator Abdul Ghafoor Haideri said a revolution could not be stopped if the government continued ignoring public sentiment on important national issues. He asked the authorities concerned to strike down US drones that entered the country’s air space in breach of sovereignty. Senator Lashkari Raeesani asked the interior minister to brief the House about those killed in an encounter in the Chamalang area of Balochistan some days ago. During the Question Hour, the Senate chairman suggested Commerce Minister Makhdoom Amin Fahim to approach the rent controllers concerned for enhancement in the rent of the buildings owned by State Life Insurance Corporation across the country. The House witnessed a heated exchange amongst the senators as they discussed export of liquor to India.
The commerce minister, in reply to a supplementary question, told the House that liquor was also being exported to India. However, Senator Khalid Soomro objected to the government’s decision saying that in an Islamic country. the liquor business should have been banned. Hasil Bazenjo asked his colleague to shun dual standards, saying Murree Brewery and other liquor producing factories had been operating in the country for decades but they never objected to it.
