Musharraf returns to Pakistan
Former leader defies Taliban death threats, doubts over electability
KARACHI Pervez Musharraf, Pakistan’s former military ruler, ended more than four years in self-imposed exile Sunday, flying to Karachi where he promised to restore peace to the crisis-riddled country.
If the former commando hoped for a swashbuckling return to a country he ran for nine years, he would have been disappointed. Party officials said they were forced to abandon plans for a rally at the mausoleum of Mohammed Ali Jinnah, Pakistan’s founding father, after police withdrew permission at the 11th hour. Instead, Musharraf addressed a crowd of only about 2,000 people at the airport, a fraction of the 100,000 plus that Imran Khan had rallied a day before in Lahore.
“I was born here,” he said in a speech delivered without a public address system and audible only to those within a few feet, “and I will serve Pakistan until my deathbed.”
On the weekend, the Pakistan Taliban announced it had formed a death squad of suicide bombers and snipers to hunt down the 69 year-old. He is also wanted in connection with a series of criminal cases, including treason and conspiracy to murder Benazir Bhutto.
Musharraf’s real undoing, however, may be the memory of his 1999 military coup and a reign that included a ban on political parties, leading to the suspension of the country’s chief justice, a move that eventually led to his downfall in 2008.
Most of his political allies have switched to other parties and few believe that he can win anything other than a single seat in elections due on May 11.
In stark contrast to the snappy Western suits and military fatigues he once was known for, Musharraf was dressed in a white Nehru jacket emblazoned with the badge of his All Pakistan Muslim League party.
“I don’t get scared by anyone except Allah the Almighty … I have come back by putting my life in danger,” he said.
“I have been ordered by my people to come back and save our Pakistan, even at the risk of my life. I want to tell all those who are making such threats that I have been blessed by Allah the Almighty.”
The faithful who greeted him at the airport came armed with bags of fragrant rose petals. Drummers kept up a steady rhythm despite the heat.
Syed Riaz Ali Khan, a retired airline ticketing officer, said Musharraf was the only leader who could rid the country of its corrupt politicians.
“Musharraf is Dracula to politicians,” he declared.
Others were less enthusiastic.
“I’m not a Musharraf supporter. I’m just here because the MQM told me to come,” said Imran, who declined to give a second name, referring to the party that runs Karachi and has struck a deal with the former president.
Musharraf was driven from the airport with a military escort to one of the city’s best hotels.
Its Scottish general manager, who asked that the hotel not be named, greeted his guest — a well-known whisky drinker — with a bottle of Johnnie Walker Black Label.
Musharraf was expected to spend the next few days in Karachi working out a slate of candidates and a strategy for the election.
Fawad Chaudhry, a former Musharraf aide who joined the governing Pakistan People’s Party, said Musharraf had ignored people around him who told him he faced an election disaster.
“He believes he’s the only electable leader of Pakistan, that he’s the only one with the experience and ability to meet Pakistan’s needs,” said Chaudhry. “He believes the country will rally round him once he’s back.”
The final hurdle to his return was lifted Friday when a court granted him pre-arrest bail in a string of cases, removing the fear that he would be arrested as soon as he left the Emirates Airlines flight that carried him to Karachi.