Sentencing Musharraf to Death Is a Message to Pakistan's Military Not to Interfere in Politics By Abdus Sattar Ghazali and Shamil Shams Al-Jazeerah, CCUN, December 18, 2019

Pervez Musharraf

 

Pakistan judiciary’s attempt to destabilize government of Imran Khan - Take Two

By Abdus Sattar Ghazali

Within the last 24 hours, Pakistan judiciary has issued two verdicts against nation’s strong army.  (Pakistan has sixth largest army in the world after China, India, U.S. Russia and North Korea.)

On Tuesday (Dec 17) a special court hearing the high treason case against former president General Pervez Musharraf handed the retired General a death sentence for overthrowing the government of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif who had been sentenced in 2018 to ten years in prison for graft.

The former president Musharraf, 76, has been in a self-imposed exile since 2016 and at present is seeking treatment in a Dubai hospital.

On Monday (Dec 16), the Supreme Court of Pakistan issued the detailed verdict regarding the extension in tenure of Chief of the Army Staff (COAS) General Qamar Javed Bajwa. Last month, the apex court had suspended the notification of Imran Khan’s government confirming the extension of General Bajwa for another three years after his term expires on November 29.

Interestingly, the Supreme Court verdict was written by Justice Mansoor Ali Shah, however, Chief Justice of Pakistan Asif Saeed Khosa, added a note by borrowing Chief Justice Sir Edward Coke of England who said in the year 1616: “Howsoever high you may be; the law is above you.”

In reaction of my article published on Pakistan judiciary’s attempt to destabilize government of Imran Khan , I received the following comments from a reader, Mr. Khalid Saeed:

 “Apparently, Chief Justice Khosa's objective was to cut down the COAS and the Army to size. But it remains to be seen that how the powerful Army reacts to the drama staged by the soon outgoing Justice Khosa. It may not prove good omen for the Judiciary, army as well as the government of Prime Minister Imran Khan who has inherited the most corrupt political system of the country which faces existential threat by extreme right-wing party ruled India. It may be recalled that in the past four army chiefs have given themselves extensions while two others were so favored by the government of the time but the judiciary did not challenge. However, now it is questioning the nitty-gritty of the extension in the term of office of General Bajwa. Why? This raises many questions.”

It will not be too much to say that Chief Justice of Pakistan Asif Saeed Khosa retires after three days on December 20, 2019 but days before his retirement Justice Khosa is leaving a legacy of confrontation between Judiciary on the one hand and Army and the government on the other hand.

Pakistan Army in ‘pain and anguish’

Not surprisingly, Pakistan Army said Tuesday that it was in a lot of pain and anguish after the special court announced its verdict in the high treason case against former military ruler General (retd) Pervez Musharraf, sentencing him to death.

Director General Inter-Services Public Relations Major General Asif Ghafoor issued an official statement saying: “An ex-Army Chief, Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee and President of Pakistan, who has served the country for over 40 years, fought wars for the defense of the country can surely never be a traitor.”

The statement further said that the due legal process in the case has been ignored ‘including constitution of special court, denial of fundamental right of self defense, undertaking individual specific proceedings and concluding the case in haste’.

Amnesty International South Asia Deputy Director, Omar Waraich said: “It is crucial he (General Musharraf) receives a fair trial without recourse to the death penalty. The death penalty is the ultimate cruel, inhuman and degrading punishment; it metes out vengeance, not justice."

The Musharraf high treason verdict is creating distances and pushing Pakistan towards conflict, according to Railways Minister Sheikh Rashid. "The decision is creating distance and putting us on a path that will lead to conflict. Those who looted Pakistan are getting bail while those who served the country are being convicted," he said. He was alluding to Nawaz Sharif who despite jail sentence was granted bail for medical treatment abroad and former President Asif Ali Zardari who was in custody on corruption charges. He was also given bail recently on medical ground.

Attorney-general says Musharraf treason case 'void'

Attorney-General for Pakistan Anwar Mansoor Khan on Tuesday said the high treason case against former president retired Gen Pervez Musharraf had been "void from the beginning" and questioned "what the rush was" in pronouncing the judgment — the death penalty — which was given in absentia.

Further criticizing the verdict, the attorney-general said that the courts had operated "outside the scope of the law".

"If the courts are independent and free, this does not mean that they decide a verdict outside the scope of the law. It does not mean they do not give a person their fundamental right. And most importantly, if a person is not allowed to produce evidence, there can be no more injustice committed against the person than what we have witnessed in this case."

"Musharraf is bed-ridden and is in the ICU at a hospital. So this is another major issue: when you know a person is hospitalized, in his absence was it right to announce this judgment or not?" he said.

Fawad Chaudhry, Federal Minister of Science and Technology tweeted about the verdict, saying, "What is the benefit of such verdicts which increase distances and divides and by which the country and institutions are divided?” 

Abdus Sattar Ghazali is the Chief Editor of the Journal of America (www.journalofamerica.net) email: asghazali2011 (@) gmail.com  

http://www.journalofamerica.net/December-2019/Gen-Musharraf/gen-musharraf.html

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A clear message to the Pakistani military

By Shamil Shams

A court has handed the death sentence to ex-ruler Pervez Musharraf. Although the capital punishment must be opposed, the verdict is a warning to the military that it must stay out of politics, says DW's Shamil Shams.

Let's be assured that former military dictator Pervez Musharraf will not be executed after a special court awarded him the death sentence in a highly unexpected verdict on Tuesday. Also, no matter how serious the crime, we must never endorse the capital punishment.

The Pakistani military is an immensely powerful institution, so much so that all civilian institutions, including the judiciary, have largely remained subservient to it for at least six decades. Musharraf is a former army chief, who ruled the country with an iron fist from 1999 to 2008. Although he now lives in a self-imposed exile in the UAE, he is respected by the current military commanders for his "services" during his tenure.

Also, the military will never want its ex-chief to be hanged. It would significantly dent its image and curtail its political power in the country.

The court verdict has already done a lot of damage to the army. The symbolic value of the ruling should not be underestimated. It sends out a clear message to the military generals that they are not above the law; that they could also be tried and punished for suspending and violating the constitution. It is a message that the military must not interfere in politics and abide by their constitutional role.

The powerful military would most likely ensure that Musharraf is not harmed in any way. And there are legal ways to counter the special court's verdict. Musharraf can still challenge the decision in the Supreme Court. There, the death sentence could be reversed or diluted. Pakistan's judiciary has a chequered record of endorsing military coups and has time and again provided legal cover to military dictators. So a different decision from superior courts cannot be ruled out.

Civilian assertion

But politics in Pakistan has changed a lot in the past decade. Civilian institutions are increasingly asserting themselves against the army.

During his third term as premier (2013-2017), former PM Nawaz Sharif — who was ousted in a bloodless military coup by Musharraf in 1999 — tried to rein in the military's powers. The industrialist-premier wanted to forge closer ties with India so that Pakistan could do away with the "security state" narrative. This, he believed, would bring in more foreign investment into the country and ultimately diminish the military's power.

Other institutions, too, are taking an independent line. We must not forget that Musharraf's ouster was only made possible because of a massive lawyers' movement in 2007. Recently, Asif Saeed Khosa, the Supreme Court chief justice, only conditionally approved the tenure extension for General Qamar Javed Bajwa, the country's army chief. Now Prime Minister Imran Khan must pass a law in parliament to support his government's decision to grant a second term to the army chief.

The military finds itself in a precarious situation, with an independent media and a growing civil society also raising their voice. The military's involvement in politics is being slammed more than ever in Pakistan, which must be a cause of concern for the military leadership.

A new social contract

Meanwhile, international pressure on the Pakistani military has also been on the rise. In October, the Paris-based Financial Action Task Force group gave Pakistan four months to prove it was fighting terror financing. Since coming to power, US President Donald Trump has also substantially reduced American military aid for Pakistan.

But that does not mean that the military will not fight back. And a clash of institutions in a nuclear-armed country with countless Islamist groups is not a very pleasant thought. Therefore, what Pakistan needs now is a new social contract that ensures that all state institutions function within their constitutional ambit.

It is also high time that the military generals sit together, surrender some of their powers and accept the civilians' right to rule the country. A country like Pakistan, which sits on many geopolitical fault-lines, cannot afford a prolonged intra-institutional confrontation.

https://www.dw.com/en/opinion-a-clear-message-to-the-pakistani-military/a-51707677?maca=en-newsletter_en_bulletin-2097-html-newsletter  

An organ of the American Institute of International Studies (AIIS), Fremont, CA Since July 2008

 The Journal of America Team:  Editor in chief: Abdus Sattar Ghazali Senior Editor: Prof. Arthur Scott  

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