Musharraf ‘shedding crocodile tears’, says ex- Pak SCBA chief

Islamabad, Sep.19 (ANI): Pakistan Supreme Court Bar Association’s former President Aitzaz Ahsan has said that former President General Pervez Musharraf is ‘shedding crocodile tears’ while admitting that removing Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry from office in 2007 was a mistake.

Referring to Musharraf’s speech at Trinity University in Saint Antonio, Texas, where the former general admitted that he had committed a mistake while sacking the then Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) from office, Ahsan said Musharraf had committed not only one but two mistakes by removing the higher judiciary and imposing an emergency in the country on November 3, 2007.

Talking to a private television channel, Ahsan said the government and the ‘independent’ judiciary should play their role in trying Musharraf under high treason charges.

He said it was not the right time for lawyers to take their struggle to roads, as they did previously while demanding restoration of the judiciary, The News reports.

Meanwhile, the Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid (PML-Q) has denied that Musharraf had taken the cabinet into his confidence before promulgating the Provisional Constitutional Ordinance (PCO) and imposing the emergency rule in 2007.

Interacting with media persons during an Iftaar party hosted by PML-Q President Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain, several party leaders rejected the notion regarding Musharraf consulting the cabinet before taking the illegal and extra-judicial actions. (ANI)

Musharraf must be prosecuted to end Army’s interference in country’s politics: Sharif

Lahore, Sep.5 (ANI): Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) chief Nawaz Sharif has said that prosecuting former President General Pervez Musharraf under high treason charges for taking ‘extrajudicial’ actions on November 3, 2007 would help resolve all crises facing the country currently.

Interacting with party workers at his Raiwind residence, Sharif said trying Musharraf would ensure that the door to military interference in the country’s politics would be closed for good.

“Today’s Constitutional crisis is the result of the military coup on October 12, 1999,” The News quoted Sharif, as saying.

“If common people and former prime ministers can face trials then why a military dictator, who violated the Constitution twice, should not be prosecuted?” the former Prime Minister asked.

Meanwhile, senior PML-N leader Ghous Ali Shah has rebutted reports regarding Sharif being involved in the ‘secret’ deal which saw Musharraf stepping down from the Presidency.

Shah said if Musharraf is not prosecuted under Article Six of the Constitution, then it will have a serious effect on the country’s democratic set-up.

“A military dictator contested elections in uniform with the permission of the courts and abrogated the constitution twice but if he was pardoned, then democracy would never consolidate,” Shah said.

He said the current infighting between the PML-N and MQM was temporary and situation would normalize soon.

“Nothing is final in politics and doors are not closed. Situation and time compel parties to talk to each other,” Shah added. (ANI)

PPP has not given any ‘guarantee’ regarding Musharraf indemnity: Kaira

Islamabad, Sep.4 (ANI): Pakistan Information and Broadcasting Minister Qamar Zaman Kaira has rebutted reports regarding Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) giving assurance not to prosecute former President General Pervez Musharraf on high treason charges.

Kaira said the PPP has not given any ‘guarantee’ to any country regarding clemency to Musharraf.

“Though friendly countries generally give advice on various matters but it is not binding on the government,” Kaira said.

In an interview with The Nation, he categorically rejected media reports that Musharraf’s step down was pre-planned and a part of a ‘secret’ arrangement.

“PPP had expelled Musharraf from Aiwan-e-Sadr with the support of masses,” he stressed.

When asked about Interior Advisor, Rehman Malik’s visit to Saudi Arabia, just before Musharraf’s meeting with king Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz, Kaira said it was a routine affair and it had nothing to do with the Musharraf issue.

Kaira also denied presence of US Blackwater on Pakistani soil, saying Islamabad would never allow any private security agency to operate inside country’s territory.

“Some personnel of private security agencies of the US after taking clearance by the government are protecting the NATO trucks which transport supplies from Port Qasim to Afghanistan and nothing else,” he said.

“As the US is leading war against terror therefore its facilities and staff are more prone to terror attacks than other countries therefore they need more security to protect themselves,” he added. (ANI)

PPP, PML-N reconciliation efforts hit hard by ‘smear Sharif’ campaign

Islamabad, Sep.4 (ANI): The Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) do not share a cordial relationship, and the recent brickbatting between the two parties, has further dented chances of a reconciliation between them.

Due to the latest round of infighting between the PML-N and PPP chances of talks between President Asif Ali Zardari and PML-N chief Nawaz Sharif has virtually become ‘nonexistent’.

It is evident that Zardari and Sharif can not stand each other, and the latest controversy regarding the Sharif smearing campaign has further soured the relations between the two leaders.

PML-N insiders said party leaders believe the vilification drive started fading fast when they directly attacked the ‘sponsors’ of the campaign, i.e. the Presidency.

“The PML-N is now satisfied that its aggressive response to lies and half truths, spread day in and day out for over a week, did the trick of putting the sponsors of the campaign on the back foot.They were left with no option but to clarify their own positions,” The News quoted a PML-N leader, as saying.

The PML-N believes the campaign was an effort to distract public attention from the actual issues like Musharraf’s trial on high treason charges and undoing the 17th Amendment.

While efforts were made for reconciliation between the two parties when Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani called Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif asking him to control the situation, but it is apparent that hatred is smearing inside both the rival political parties.

“This short spell of intense war of words exposed the acrimony, mistrust and misunderstanding existing deep down between the two major political parties, the PPP and the PML-N,” a PML-N leader said. (ANI)

Outcome of Musharraf’s ‘successful’ Saudi visit to be revealed soon: Qureshi

Lahore, Sep.4 (ANI): Former Pakistan Presidency spokesperson Rashid Qureshi has said former President General Pervez Musharraf’s meeting with Saudi King Abdullah has been ‘successful’, and the outcome of the talks between the two leaders will surface after some days.

Qureshi, who was Musharraf’s spokesman during his regime, rebutted reports that the former Army General had visited Riyadh to request the Saudi authorities to direct Islamabad to not to pursue high treason charges against him.

He said Musharraf visited Saudi Arabia on an invitation by the king.

Qureshi also rejected a reports carried by a leading Pakistani daily that Musharraf’s Saudi visit has turned out to be a fiasco since he failed in persuading the Saudi authorities to secure clemency from his detractors in Pakistan.

The report claimed that Saudi authorities have advised Musharraf to seek pardon and tender an unconditional apology for his unconstitutional acts directly from the people who had to suffer due to his actions during his regime.

Qureshi termed the report as ‘false and inappropriate’ and said truth regarding Musahrraf’s visit would be out soon. (ANI)

Musharraf’s trial would result in unmitigated chaos in Pak: Report

Washington, Sep.3 (ANI): While the ruling Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) in Pakistan in under immense pressure to try former President General Pervez Musharraf under high treason charges for his ‘extrajudicial’ actions on November 3,2007, observers believe that the former general’s trial would create further problems in the troubled country.

Pakistan’s failure to act against Musharraf has cast doubts on Islamabad’s prospects for establishing an independent judiciary, however, charging him would cause major instability in the country, a Christian Science Monitor report said.

If the Supreme Court decides to pursue a high treason case against Musharraf, then it could have far reaching effect on Pakistan’s internal politics, it said.

Musharraf’s trial would certainly see demands from different quarters to prosecute several other high profile politicians and other prominent personalities of the country as well.

Many of those who are pushing for Musharraf to stand trial are themselves guilty of either committing unconstitutional acts or abetting them like former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry, it added.

The report said that there are plenty of persons who can be tried if the October5, 2007, National Reconciliation Ordinance (NRO) was overturned.

The NRO immunizes all government officials who served between January 1, 1986, and October 12, 1999, when Musharraf led a coup to dethrone Nawaz Sharif and attain power.

The report said that in order to avoid massive trouble in the country, the parliament should declare that the past is the past, and proceed with a firm resolve to punish any subsequent government criminality.

Parliament should send a strong message of neutrality by avoiding the double standard of prosecuting one guilty party but not the others, the report added.

But the real test of Pakistan’s democratic capability will be whether it can set up a system of checks and balances to sustain that principle, it concluded. (ANI)

“Optimistic” Musharraf leaves for London in ‘high spirits’ after Saudi visit

Riyadh, Sep.3 (ANI): Former Pakistan President General Pervez Musharraf has returned to London after his three day visit to Saudi Arabia, and it seems his tour has yielded the desired results.

Musharraf, who had a long one to one talk with King Abdullah amid speculations of yet another Saudi-backed political arrangement in Pakistan, was in ‘high spirits’ after the meeting, sources said.

While the details of the meeting are still behind curtains, sources privy to the developments said Musharraf would disclose his future course of action only after returning to London, but as it transpires Musharraf has succeeded in his aim to ensure a safe return to Pakistan without any fears of being tried for high treason under Article Six of the Constitution.

“Musharraf was in ‘high spirits’. His body language was ‘positive’ and he sounded ‘very optimistic’,” The Dawn quoted sources close to the former general, as saying.

It is worth mentioning here that Musharraf had resigned from the Presidency last year, following an agreement in which Saudi Arabia was one of the guarantors.

The accord says that Musharraf would not be tried in any court. The US and Britain are believed to be the other two guarantors of the agreement, which has been kept secret.

While the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) is pushing for Musharraf’s trial under high treason charges, observers believe that it would be naïve to think that PML-N chief and former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif is unaware about the agreement.

Sources also revealed Sharif may visit Riyadh next week where he is likely to meet King Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz. He will also have meetings with some other Saudi leaders including Prince Mukrin, chief of the Saudi Intelligence Agency. (ANI)

One call from Saudi Arabia would seal Musharraf trial seekers’ mouth: PML-Q

Lahore, Sep.2 (ANI): Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid (PML-Q) Secretary General Mushahid Hussain Sayed has said that former President General Pervez Musharraf had left the country after inking a deal with the present government regarding not being prosecuted under high treason charges, and that one call from Saudi government would silence Musharraf’s trial seekers.

Speaking on a television chat show, Sayed said only a single telephone call from Saudi Arabia would stop demands for Musharraf’s trial.

While ruling out any involvement of the Armed Forces in the present crisis, he said Musharraf’s trial under Article Six was impossible.

“The present system had no problem from the army or the Inter-Services Intelligence or any so-called secret agencies,” The Daily Times quoted Sayed, as saying.

Commenting on the PML-N chief Nawaz Sharif’s threat to hold a long march demanding Musharraf’s trial, he said Pakistan could ill-afford midterm elections or long marches against the ‘democratic’ government.

Sayed said the country’s leadership should have the courage to decisions on their own rather than depending upon calls from British Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs David Miliband or US Special Representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan Richard Holbrooke. (ANI)

Pak enemies must be prosecuted under high treason charges: Musharraf

Jeddah, Sep.2 (ANI): Former Pakistan President General Pervez Musharraf, who himself in facing high treason charges, has said that country’s enemies must be prosecuted as traitors.

A private television channel quoted Musharraf, as saying that traitors must be ‘treated as traitors.’

Musharraf also said that during his regime Pakistan’s economy flourished and attained unprecedented growth, The News reports.

He refrained from commenting on the issues relating to his trial under the Article Six of the Constitution, but said his rule had brought many laurels to the country. (ANI)

PML-N’s abrupt U-turn on trying Gen Kayani for ‘high treason’

Lahore, Aug.31 (ANI): A day after the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) chief Nawaz Sharif’s spokesman Zaeem Qadri said that Army Chief General Ashfaq Kayani should also be prosecuted under high treason charges along with former President General Pervez Musharraf, the party has denied General Kayani’s involvement in imposition of emergency rule on November 3, 2007.

PML-N spokesman Siddiq-ul Farooq said Musharraf had imposed emergency rule with the help of a few police officials, and did not take General Kayani into confidence.

Farroq said neither the military top brass, nor the then Prime Minister was taken into confidence by Musharraf, The Dawn reports.

PML-N Information Secretary Ahsan Iqbal also said that the former Army Chief was exclusively responsible for the imposition of emergency.

Iqbal also rejected reports that PML-N was involved in secret talks with Musharraf, and was preparing a ‘great deal’ to help him escape the high treason trial under Article six of the Constitution.

It may be recalled that Sharif’s spokesperson had said that the party wanted the trial of former President General Pervez Musharraf and all his close aides for supporting his unconstitutional actions.

When asked whether that means trying the present Chief of Army Staffs (COAS) General Ashfaq Kayani too, Qadri said General Kayani also fell under the category of Musharraf’s close aides. (ANI)

Musharraf in no mood to return to Pakistan soon

London, Aug.29 (ANI): Former Pakistan President General Pervez Musharraf is in no mood to return to Pakistan soon.

Musharraf’s close associates believe that the former Army Chief is apparently playing a ‘wait and watch’ game, and has virtually no plans to return to the Pakistan to face the high treason charges being leveled against him.

“Let’s see how the political situation develops and emerges,” is Musharraf’s views according to his aides.

They said Musharraf is of the view that he would return to his country only when he is needed there.

“I will sacrifice my life if Pakistan needs me because this is what we are taught at the Pakistan Military Academy. But it has to be seen whether Pakistan really needs me otherwise I will not go back to Pakistan,” Musharraf told his associates.

Musharraf, who is currently in London, is enjoying his time as an orator delivering lectures across the globe.

Musharraf will visit 17 cities of the United States from September 15 to October 20 to deliver a series of lectures to different organisations. On the last day, he will co-chair a seminar with Henry Kissinger in Boston, The News reports.

He receives a hefty fee for each of his lectures, probably the reason why he owns an apartment in Hyde Park Crescent, London, an area considered highly upscale, pricey and classy even by Londoners. (ANI)