The government’s dilemma

Holding Musharraf or letting him go abroad

Pervez Musharraf had reportedly fallen seriously ill and avowedly shifted to the ICU a day before the orders for his arrest were to be executed. It was given out that in view of his precarious condition, anything could happen to him while facing the tense situation in the court. Musharraf however walked out of his hospital room without the aid of a stretcher, boarded the car and reached the court under security that was also provided to him during his last court appearance. Later he returned to the AFIC fit as a fiddle. This indicates that the two grounds on which his lawyers had justified his absence from the court since December i.e., bad health and security considerations, were altogether bogus. The five charges against Musharraf were read out in the court while the former military ruler pleaded not guilty. With the legally binding formality of indictment over, the High Treason case would move on to the next stage with the prosecution presenting the evidence and the accused cross examining it to defend himself.

Musharraf either understood it himself or was conveyed the message that any further attempt to dodge the court was likely to lead to a clash between the judiciary and the institution that had provided him shelter in a military hospital. A soft spoken barrister Farogh Nasim was then appointed the new counsel by Musharraf. The old team of defence lawyers which had single mindedly concentrated on obstructing the court proceedings, one way or the other, to stop the indictment was not needed for the time being. The emphasis of the new counsel was on seeking the court’s permission for Musharraf to proceed abroad to meet his ailing mother and get himself treated in the US. For the first time in three months the environment in the court was tension free. What stands in Musharraf’s way is that his name is on the Exit Control List (ECL).

It is the first time that a former army chief is going to be held accountable for violating the constitution. As things stand Musharraf is innocent in the eyes of law till the charges against him are proved by the prosecution. The court has disposed of Mushharraf’s petitions requesting permission to go abroad with the remarks that it is for the government to decide whether to remove his name from the ECL. What the court would require only is the appearance of the accused whenever summoned. All eyes will be fixed on what the interior ministry decides. Taking the decision would not be easy as the opposition would accuse the government of helping Musharraf escape in case former military ruler failed to return to face the cases.