It is payback time for former military ruler General Pervez Musharraf who faces three legal cases for his actions from his time at the helm of power. The Islamabad High Court rejected his bail application yesterday in the judges arrest case, ordering his detention. But when the push came to shove, the general who had earlier been putting on a brave face saying he was ready to stand before law, lost nerve.
Musharraf's counsel and senior leader of his party Ahmad Raza Qasuri has argued, albeit implausibly, that his client "did not escape from the court as around 100 Ranger personnel, brought him to the court and took him back." He is required to appreciate the fact that Musharraf's failure to surrender himself for arrest will be widely interpreted as an escape. The Army would not be happy to see its former chief behind bars, but there was not much it could do to help him. Creditably for its leadership, the Rangers security was withdrawn in deference to the court order. Yet, for obvious reasons the police hesitated to do its duty. The case is only a beginning of more serious things to come for the general as the pressure mounts to try him under Article 6 of the Constitution for his November 2007 declaration of emergency under which he suspended the Constitution. Then the Baloch nationalists are baying for his blood for his alleged role in the murder of Nawab Akbar Bugti. As his reaction in the court shows, much of his earlier statements were mere bluster. The honourable thing for him to do was to comply with the court order, and courageously face the law like any other citizen. If he did not have the heart to cope with accountability for what he did as military ruler, he had the choice of staying in his Dubai/London exile. So why did he return? The stated reason is that he wanted to save Pakistan by participating in the upcoming elections. He had filed nomination papers for three national assembly seats - all of which have been rejected. Long before he returned, there were enough indicators that suggested he would be safer staying where he was. The opportunistic politicians who had gathered around him under the umbrella of Q League to make hay while the sun shone, had abandoned him as soon as the shadows of darkness approached.
The new party, the APML, he launched from exile, failed to attract much attention. Meanwhile, the political landscape he left behind about six years ago had undergone a radical change. The PML-N headed by his nemesis, Nawaz Sharif, ruled in Punjab and held sway in the National Assembly as the main opposition. A newly independent judiciary asserted its authority without any let or hindrance while the media came into its own to play its watchdog role. Apparently, his decision was based on gross miscalculations of both his worth and the mood of the country. The only source of trouble from his perspective seemed to be the party which had suffered most at his hands, the PML-N. He thought he had neutralised that source via a friendly country's intervention, and did not need to worry about the others. The latest reality check must have come as a huge shock to him. It is a testing time for all concerned. The Army as an organisation is not responsible for the actions of its former leader, and hence should stay out of General Musharraf's legal battles. Last but not least, although, his stylish vehicle successfully raced towards his equally stylish home in Chak Shahzad that has been notified as sub-jail, this highly unsavoury development created ideal conditions for a serious stand-off between him and the interim set-up three weeks before the general election.