Treason trial to stop Musharraf from fleeing country: Rashid

Talking about the timing of moving the court against former president Pervez Musharraf, Federal Information Minister Pervaiz Rashid on Tuesday said had the government not moved the court, Musharraf would have fled from the country.
The government on Monday moved the court, seeking formation of a judicial commission to initiate a high treason case against General (r) Pervez Musharraf for imposition of emergency on November 3, 2007.
However, critics are opposing the move, saying that it was aimed at shifting media focus from Rawalpindi violence. Others argue that why the general was not being tried for overthrowing Nawaz Sharif’s government on October 12, 1999.
“Since Musharraf has been released on bail in all four cases, we could not have been able to resist his plea to remove his name from the Exit Control List. So the government decided to move with his trial (under high treason),” the minister told reporters at a seminar about the right to information law.
To a question, he said initially it was a perception that Musharraf would not be arrested, but the government arrested him. He said rumours were also floating in the air that the general would not be put under trial. Rashid said the government proved all wrong and wrote a letter to the chief justice of Pakistan to form a commission.
“Everyone has to accept the law of the land,” he asserted. Rashid said with the passage of time, all cases against Musharraf were taken up in the court. Regarding November 3, 2007 emergency, the minister said the government was a petitioner in the case.
To a question about the timing of the case, he said had the government not written the letter to the Chief Justice, Musharraf might have left the country and people would have started blaming it for his escape.
To another question about Rawalpindi violence, he said that the media deserved praise for showing responsibility and maturity in covering the unfortunate incident.
“The national media showed a great sense of responsibility and pursued a balanced approach while covering the unfortunate incident,” he said.
He said the nation acknowledged that the media had acted responsibly and kept the national interest supreme.