Musharraf’s return

Pervez Musharraf has spared no effort to ensure that he evades justice for the multiple crimes he is accused to have committed against the constitution and the people of Pakistan during the nine years he was power. Rather than face a high treason trial in a special court, he fled to Dubai on the pretext of needing medical treatment. This makes it difficult to accept at face value the words of All Pakistan Muslim League members who claim their party chief will return to the country by the end of April. In recent days, the special court has been trying to pressure the government to secure Musharraf’s return and contact Interpol to begin the process of extradition. While such measures do have a chance of putting enough heat on Musharraf to force him out of exile, one is sceptical if matters will go that far. For one, considering the political situation the current government finds itself in, how much it can manage to do regarding Musharraf’s return is uncertain. In the meanwhile, Musharraf’s legal team has written letters to the interior and defence ministries seeking protection should he return to the country. Such requests should only be considered if Musharraf submits himself to the court rather than use security as yet another excuse for his exile. That Musharraf was allowed out of the country in the first place, using the flimsy excuse of a bad back, shows that there are many who do not want the former dictator held accountable for his crimes.

In his exile in Dubai, Musharraf has been completely unapologetic about his dictatorship, has embraced extremist groups like the Lashkar-e-Taiba and mused about rogue army officers being involved in the assassination of Benazir Bhutto. Apart from the treason case, Musharraf still has many questions to answer about his role in the killings of Akbar Bugti and Benazir Bhutto. His return to the country is needed so we can grapple with the ugliness of the recent past and have a reckoning not just for Musharraf but for those who aided and abetted his illegal rule. The statements given by APML leaders make it seem as if Musharraf is intending to return to active politics from a base in Karachi. The last time he tried this, in 2008, he was disqualified by the courts and shunned by the public. He appears to be under the delusion that he is the saviour this country needs when in fact we are still trying to recover from his ruinous rule. If he does return to the country, it should be to finally face the courts.