ISLAMABAD: It’s shocking to see such a criminal get off scot-free, said Nawaz Sharif on a question about Pervez Musharraf getting the permission to contest the election.
The former PM held an informal talk with journalists outside the accountability court in Islamabad on Friday.
“Musharraf is involved in the Akbar Bugti case,” he said. “He is responsible for the killings of 52 people on May 12, 2007. He is responsible for throwing out judges.”
Mr Sharif said he was shocked. “It’s incomprehensible,” he said. “Where is the law and Constitution and where are all the cases and Article 6?”
Someone can commit murder or trample the Constitution and nothing is said to them, said the former PM. “On the other hand, I am disqualified for lifetime.”
He said how is it possible that a person has a treason case going on against them and gets the permission to contest the election simultaneously. “I don’t even get three-day exemption to see my ailing wife,” he said.
Captain (retd) Safdar said if Musharraf was a patriot, he wouldn’t have run away from the country. He told journalists at the accountability court that the former military dictator would not return.
On Thursday, the Supreme Court had conditionally allowed former military dictator Pervez Musharraf to file nomination papers for the election. It was hearing a case on if the former military ruler was eligible to run for public office. Musharraf’s lawyer, Qamar Afzal, appealed to the court to throw out the Lahore High Court’s lifetime ban on him contesting elections and heading a political party.
Chief Justice Saqib Nisar said Musharraf could be permitted to submit his documents if he returned home next week, but the high court’s decision could not be annulled. His nomination papers will be accepted depending on the high court’s orders. He must personally appear in court.
We also assure that he will not be arrested upon his return, the chief justice said. “We can revoke his disqualification only if he arrives in Pakistan and faces the courts. Ask him to appear by June 13,” the CJP said.
In March 2016, Musharraf left for London after three years of being banned from international travel. The former army chief, who took power in a 1999 coup, is facing charges of treason. He was nominated in the Benazir Bhutto murder case. An anti-terrorism court in August 2017 declared Musharraf an absconder.APP