Musharraf will be brought back through Interpol... Nisar informs joint sitting

The Federal Minister for Interior Chaudahry Nisar Ali Khan told a joint sitting of parliament on Monday that law will spring into action, forcing the former president to stage a comeback through Interpol if he opted to stay abroad after getting medical treatment. The joint sitting, convened to pass PIA privatisation bill, was dominated by fiery speeches by opposition political parties - Pakistan People's Party (PPP) and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) - criticising the government for what they said 'striking a deal with a dictator' despite numerous cases against him.
After it became clear to opposition that the government is set to pass PIA privatisation bill in the joint sitting, they were left with no option but to settle scores with government by taking the issue of allowing Musharraf for treatment abroad. The opposition MPs desire to vent their anger in presence of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif could not be fulfilled as he left after staying for about 30 minutes in the house, leaving the enraged opposition MPs on the mercy of his flamboyant interior minister. The leader of opposition in National Assembly Syed Khurshid Ahmed Shah took an interesting start, saying the government should not have initiated the cases against Musharraf if it knew there would be no outcome of all these cases.
If you had decided to send him abroad by taking refuge under the court orders, he added, the government should have at least taken the parliament into confidence before allowing him to travel abroad. "If he was sick, you should have at least taken the issue before the parliament. If not, why it is only Musharraf, you should go after all those who were involved in unconstitutional activities including former chief justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhary as it was he who validated his [Msuarraf] 1999 coupe," he questioned.
In an obvious reference to Chaudhary Nisar's statements, who blames PPP of not initiating any case against Musharraf during its five-year stint, Shah summed up things quite interestingly and said: "We're not lions; we're weak; we'd no courage to take on Musharraf [and] we can't do anything, but you're lion, and what happened to you".
He also suspected the intentions of Pervez Musharraf for going abroad under the pretext of getting treatment, saying the way he lit the cigar in his trademark style soon after landing up in Dubai, reflects all is enjoying good health. "Wish if Musharraf could've at least some regard for his benefactors [government] [and] waited to have the cigar not so openly so that these people could not have been embarrassed...after he was allowed to travel abroad by these people," he remarked.
The opposition leader also left the some government ministers red-faced for their fiery statements in which they claimed to quit politics or proceed with the reason trial of Pervez Musharraf at all costs. Shah Mehmood Qureshi, PTI deputy parliamentary leader in National Assembly questioned where does the treason case under Article 6 of the constitution stands today, adding the people are asking whether it will reach its logical end or not.
Declaring the opposition criticism a complete distortion of facts, the interior minister made it really tough for the opposition, with steadfast challenge, saying he has straight answers to every question over Musharraf issue. He asked the PPP what they did during their five-year stint as there was an FIR against Pervez Musharraf for his alleged involvement in murder of their leader Benazir Bhutto.
"It's not too late when all opposition parties decided to quit the assemblies four months before dissolution of the then assembly back in 2007, but it was the PPP that kept chanting, what to talk of acting against Musharraf," he lamented. Musharraf used to shuttle between Pakistan and different foreign countries during PPP government without any restriction on his movement, he said, adding it was his party government that initiated treason trial besides restricting his movement despite court orders.
"The PPP took over soon after Benazir was assassinated, and I just want to ask you what you did to expose those involved in his murder despite an FIR against Musharraf...have some guts to speak the truth at least here in parliament," he retorted. He continued that the PML-N government put his name on ECL (exit control list), and challenged the Sindh High Court decision in Supreme Court, adding we did not allow him to travel abroad after apex court order until his legal team properly allied for removal of his name at interior ministry.
Talking action against Musharraf is too far, the PPP did not even opt to become a party in the case when government filed a review petition against SHC verdict, he said, adding the PTI leader Hamid Khan (advocate) became a party in the case, but later he never appeared in a single hearing.