The disgraced former military dictator wants to play politics
No Pakistani citizen can be forced into exile under law and Musharraf is therefore within his right to return and take part in politics. One is not sure though whether the real motive behind his return is to contest the elections or something else. The former military ruler has insignificant following. While he might have a large number of admirers on the Facebook than Imran Khan as he claims, few took the trouble to come out of the world of virtual reality to receive him at the Karachi airport. Fewer are likely to turn up at the polling stations. The gathering at the airport was, in the words of the NYT report, “unremarkable”. The reason is simple. Musharraf is widely disliked for overthrowing an elected government, perceived involvement in Banazir’s murder and the killing of Akabar Bugti. Mushrraf is also remembered for policies that have left a legacy of power and gas shortages. While he claims to be as popular as Ayub Khan, former army officers have demanded his court martial for providing bases to the US and launching the Kargil offensive without consulting the army high command.
Musharraf’s strong point is his foreign contacts. He has managed during the last four years to create a support group of well to do Pakistani expatriates who are willing to finance him. Any perception of a hopeless political future for the former military ruler is likely to dampen their enthusiasm over time. The reports regarding Musharraf’s Saudi benefactors having softened the PML-N leadership’s stance towards him appear to be plausible. The Sharif brothers, who castigated the PPP government year after year for ignoring to seek Interpol help to bring him back to face trial for treason, have suddenly assumed silence over the issue. During his latest umrah, it suddenly dawned on Nawaz Sharif that it was against Quranic teachings to deprive a person of his homeland.
Musharraf’s claim that he is coming back to organise the APML is somewhat disingenuous. Parties are organised before the announcement of elections. Once the election process has started, the leadership is fully absorbed in the activity and has little time for anything else. Musharraf’s earlier attempts to woo the PML-Q to adopt him as its chief failed four years back. Subsequently, he tried to forge an alliance with Imran Khan getting a similarly discouraging response. In between, he was reportedly hobnobbing with MQM dissidents without producing any results. His recent overtures to MQM have been rebuffed. Some who had initially helped Musharraf form the APML later got disenchanted and left him. As things stand Musharraf is to fight elections while facing the double whammy of terrorist threats and cases pending in the courts.
