- Mohajirs feel Musharraf being ‘targeted’ for being one
- Wasay Jalil admits sympathy wave among Mohajirs for Musharraf
With General (r) Pervez Musharraf put under house arrest, it is likely that the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) would soon announce its support for him as sympathies are growing in party ranks for the former military ruler.
Well-placed sources in the MQM and All Pakistan Muslim League (APML) confirmed to Pakistan Today that leaderships of both parties were in contact.
“A specific attitude of the media and judiciary towards the former dictator is fast spreading an impression among the Mohajir community that Musharraf is being taken to task unduly, while all his abettors and collaborators in imposition of emergency have been spared the humiliation. As Musharraf is a Mohajir and has no support from any corner, the top leadership of the MQM is seriously mulling announcing its support for the former president,” an MQM leader said.
“We are concerned about the maltreatment being meted out to the former president and former chief of army staff. There is a feeling among the Mohajir community that Musharraf is being targeted and victimised for being a Mohajir,” the MQM leader said.
“The nation just saw what happened to those generals and politicians who were held responsible by the Supreme Court in the Asghar Khan case for taking bribes from the ISI. No one was touched but in Musharraf’s case all hell has broken loose. We are soon going to announce our support for the General,” the MQM leader added.
On the other hand, MQM spokesman Wasay Jalil admitted that a feeling of alienation amongst Mohajirs in upper Sindh had re-emerged since the trial of General Musharraf began.
However, he said that in spite of this feeling, his party would not make a public comment as the matter was sub-judice.
“Since we are done with the difficult task of tickets distribution, the party will discuss this issue within a day or two,” he added.
Aasia Ishaque, the APML secretary information, said Musharraf had the full backing of his party workers and they would welcome any political support.
Asked whether or not the General was expecting such treatment upon his return or if he had been trapped, Aasia said, “No, Musharraf has not been trapped. Before leaving for Pakistan, all options were discussed and he was actually expecting much worst. He knew he is facing biased judges and some venomous media personalities. But we have faith in God,” she said, adding that the current situation had not broken the General’s resolve to play his role in Pakistan.
Commenting on the statement by former spokesman of General Musharraf, Maj Gen (r) Rashid Qureshi who had sought the army’s intervention to save Musharraf, Aasia distanced her party from the statement, saying Rashid’s statement was his personal opinion and did not reflect the party’s policy.
“This might be his personal views. The APML has not sought the army’s intervention. Despite having reservations against the biased judges, we expect justice,” she said.
Maj Gen (r) Rashid Qureshi, a close associate of former president General (r) Pervez Musharraf, had asked the top military leadership on Saturday to intervene in the issue immediately before tensions between state institutions got worse.
Aasia said her party did have reservations over Justice Shaukat Aziz Siddiqui of the Islamabad High Court, as he had been an activist of a religious political party and had also been the counsel of Lal Masjid cleric Abdul Aziz.
“Everyone knows that Abdul Aziz was involved in terrorism and he had led an armed rebellion against the state which triggered the Lal Masjid operation. Justice Shaukat Siddiqui got house arrest orders for the Maulana and also got Aziz’s BahriaTown residence declared as sub-jail,” she added.
She said that Justice Siddiqui contested 2002 election from the MMA’s platform for NA-54 Rawalpindi.
“How could you expect justice from such a political person who has also defended terrorists?” she added.