Decline and Fall of the General
The stage is set for Pervez Musharraf to be tried for the killing of Benazir Bhutto
The stage is set for Pervez Musharraf to be tried for the killing of Benazir Bhutto.
High on his popularity on social media ( Facebook ‘ likes’ and Twitter followers) and misled by party workers that Pakistanis wanted him to come back, General ( retired) Pervez Musharraf returned to a country he once ruled.
That act of hubris has landed him in the dock for murder. On August 20, Musharraf was indicted by an antiterrorism court in Rawalpindi for the December 27, 2007 assassination of two- time prime minister Benazir Bhutto. “He was charged with murder, criminal conspiracy for murder and facilitation of murder,” Public Prosecutor Chaudhry Azhar told AFP.
Musharraf’s farmhouse in Chak Shahzad on Islamabad’s outskirts was declared a sub- jail by the courts. Gossip is, he lives a comfortable life there. He watches TV, reads newspapers, smokes cigars, drinks Scotch every evening and is in touch with the world. Pakistani political prisoners have never seen such luxury.
Time is another luxury the general has. His indictment means a trial will now start, but it may take years to conclude, depending on factors such as the interest of the government, judiciary and the army. While it is unprecedented for a former head of state, especially a former military dictator, to appear in the dock for crimes he may have committed, Musharraf’s indictment seems symbolic rather than concrete. Some believe that once Chief Justice Iftikhar