Can the former President be lucky for longIJ
It is becoming increasingly clear that former Pakistani President, General Pervez Musharraf, will probably not have his day in court any time soon. The special Bench constituted to try him on charges of high treason will, in all probability, today excuse him from court appearances yet again after considering his medical records, which list nine major health problems. last Thursday, the General had been whisked away to a military hospital after he complained of chest pains on his way to court. Since then, he has been lodged there in virtual isolation — even his lawyers are not allowed to see him. Few believe that the General is so sick that he has to be bed-ridden, especially since the 70-year-old seemed to be in good health only days before when he did several media appearances.
Besides, this is not the first time that Gen Musharraf has missed court. On two previous occasions, supposed bomb threats had prevented him from making it to his hearing. It does not require a stretch of imagination to see how the General and his allies may be using some of the oldest tricks in the book to stay away from court. That Gen Musharraf's ill-health is merely an excuse to get him out of the country on grounds of better medical treatment, is being actively speculated. The only problem here is that Gen Musharraf is on Pakistan's Exit Control list, making it impossible for him to fly out of the country without the court's permission. However, his wife has already applied for his name to be removed from the list and, if his medical case is accepted by the court, then the ECl restriction can be easily lifted.
One of the reasons why it is being assumed that Gen Musharraf will be evacuated from Pakistan sooner than later is because this seems like a win-win situation for many powerful stakeholders in Islamabad and Rawalpindi. The Pakistani Army does not want one of its former chiefs to be prosecuted, and that too in a civilian court of law. It is, therefore, presumably doing everything within its power to shield the General (while ensuring it does not seem to be overtly subverting the judicial process). Besides, Gen Musharraf's treason trial could open a can of worms indicting other military members who supported him in the bloodless coup of 1999 that had ousted Mr Nawaz Sharif from office. This would immediately put the Army on a collision track with the civilian Government, especially with Mr Sharif back at the helm now — which explains why some sections in Islamabad also may not want the treason trial to go away. Gen Musharraf clearly made a huge error of judgement when he returned to Pakistan in March last year, despite the Army advising him to the contrary, to contest the 2013 general election. He was banned from the electoral fray in May and slapped with a horde of grave charges that could get him the death penalty. A one-way ticket back to london is his best retirement plan at this point.