Federal Minister for Railways Khawaja Saad Rafique on Wednesday said that courts of the country would decide fate of Pervez Musharraf.
Talking to media outside the Parliament, he said, “The way of going abroad for former dictator Pervez Musharraf goes through courts and not the government.”
He said if Musharraf was allowed to go abroad then how the government will answer the people of Sindh, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan who suffered most due to his policies.
Rafique said Musharraf had committed many crimes including attack on Lal Masjid, killing of Akbar Bugti and torture of workers of political parties.
The minister said the country could not become strong if laws were different for the weak and influential segments of society. He added that Musharraf had committed the “mother of all crimes” by abrogating the Constitution for his personal interest. He said the Supreme Court and not the government had initiated the case against Musharraf.
To a question, he said the government and judiciary have their own jurisdictions and responsibilities. He said the government will never interfere in Musharraf’s treason case proceedings.
To a question, the minister said abrogation of Constitution and misuse of powers was high treason. He said Musharraf was no more a general and he was facing the courts in the capacity of a politician. He said Pakistan Army was a prestigious institution of the country and the sacrifices rendered by this institution could not be paid back. He said the government had received an application from Musharraf to exclude his name from the Exit Control List (ECL).
Rafique supported the idea of PTI President Javed Hashmi to constitute commission to probe the Kargil incident. He said it was compulsory to put Pervez Musharraf on trial for strengthening and sustainability of democracy. He said Musharraf was facing court as a politician and not as a general as presently he was chief of a political party.
Rafique said people of the country on May 11 had given mandate to PML-N to arrest the criminals and not let them go. He asked Musharraf to face trial and questioned what kind of illness he had when he could walk to the court.
To a question, he said Musharraf was not the only person whose mother was ill and there were many criminals whose loved ones were sick. He said his party does not believe in political victimisation, adding case of Musharraf was a constitutional matter and the government has no authority to forgive culprits of the nation.
To a question, he said the role of army will be written in golden words as it rendered unmatched sacrifices to protect frontiers of the country.
