Opinion Ghost of a general past

Upon his return,Malik was quoted by Dawn as saying: “‘There will be no trial of Musharraf unless Parliament adopts a resolution seeking his trial.’ There were reports Malik had met him there.”

The Saudis,are coming to the General’s rescue,as reports Daily Times on September 2. “The Saudi authorities have formally sent a message to the Pakistani leadership that they want stability in Pakistan,with King Abdullah urging all stakeholders to abide by an agreement that rules out any action against former President Pervez Musharraf… The Saudi king played the role of a guarantor at the time of Musharraf’s resignation and assured the former president that no action would be taken against him. The king said that if a party or an individual backed out of the agreement reached,Pak-Saudi relations would be affected. Nawaz Sharif travels to Saudi Arabia next week to hold meetings with officials who would “force him to abide by the agreement…”

Musharraf’s one-time blue-eyed boy,PMLQ leader Senator Mushahid Hussain Sayed,had perhaps predicted the above news. Daily Times reported the same day: “Everyone will stop talking of Musharraf’s trial after receiving one phone call from Saudi Arabia… Mushahid said he was against the trial,adding that the trial was not possible.”The News,however,wrote in its September 3 edition. “Musharraf’s visit to Saudi Arabia has turned out to be a fiasco since he failed to persuade the Saudi authorities to secure clemency from his detractors in Pakistan,particularly the Sharif family. Instead,the Saudi authorities have advised him to seek pardon and tender an unconditional apology for his unconstitutional acts from the people who had to suffer… Musharraf has left Saudi Arabia empty-handed and it is expected that some other ‘international friends’ of the former president could intervene to save his neck. Musharraf who arrived in Saudi Arabia by a royal plane departed from the Kingdom by a commercial flight.”

The News,in its September 3 editorial appeared in no mood to exonerate Musharraf. “The fact is President Pervez Musharraf has broken the law of the land. It would be hard to find anyone with legal knowledge who would dispute this fact. Indeed he made a mockery of the constitution by violating multiple provisions within it. Like any citizen,he should surely be brought to book. There is no logical reason why he should be let off.” Daily Times,however,said: “It is known to the world that wisdom has fled Pakistan. The country seeks revenge when it should be bothered about the Taliban threat which has hardly disappeared. What is going on is politics of revenge all over again. The adding of Musharraf to the primitive fires burning in the hearts of our leaders will do Pakistan the kind of damage that can’t be grasped at this stage. This is the wisdom that is easily understood if you are abroad and not a Pakistani.”