Old cronies campaign to rescue former military ruler

KARACHI: In a bid to rescue the under trial ex-military ruler of Pakistan, former allies of General (retd) Pervez Musharraf regime expressed their loyalty to him yet again on Saturday,

Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) chief Altaf Hussain, who has been vocal on the issue, said those behind implicating only Mushrraf in the trial under Article 6 of the Constitution were themselves culprits for doing so under the same article.

Gen Musharraf is currently facing an unprecedented high treason trial, along with other charges, for imposing emergency and deposing higher judiciary judges in different Pakistani courts.

Without naming anyone, Altaf Hussain said those who took ‘actions’ before the former army chief’s aircraft landed in Pakistan should also be tried and hanged.
“Listen carefully…I may return to Pakistan any day,” said the MQM chief in a threatening tone to an unidentified audience.

“How can I respect someone who considers one a culprit for the same crime of which others are innocent?” he questioned.

The MQM chief was speaking over telephone from London at an inauguration ceremony of a new campus of Nazir Hussain University.

Meanwhile, chief of Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid (PML-Q) Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain said those who speak of Article 6 should also go through Article 63.

Speaking at a function in Lahore, he demanded the government to take action against ministers, who he alleged, used inappropriate language against the Pakistan Army.
The PML-Q chief said breaching the Constitution does not fall under high treason, adding Gen Musharraf should not have been implicated in the case in the first place.

Meanwhile, Allama Tahirul Qadri – an Islamic cleric who, with thousands of his followers, took to the streets in Islamabad in the run up to the historic May 11 polls demanding sweeping changes to the electoral system of the country – also declared Musharraf’s trial as biased.

He alleged that Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif was settling personal scores under the disguise of court proceedings.
Declaring May 11, 2013 as a dark day for Pakistan, the chief of Minhajul Quran Foundation announced a country-wide protest on May 11 next month.

He alleged that the federal ministers were trying to defame the armed forces and not Musharraf alone, demanding the trial to be initiated starting from actions of October 12, 1999 rather than Nov 3, 2007.

“If accountability has to be done then it should be done for ministers, judges, generals and the parliamentarians as well,” said the cleric.