Musharraf’s spokesman criticises decision

Published November 18, 2013
A photograph posted on Sunday by retired Gen Pervez Musharraf on his Facebook page just hours before the announcement by the government that it has decided to initiate his trial under Article 6 shows the former military ruler relaxing with two of his associates. The caption posted along with the picture read: "I was happy to see Raza(L), my International Spokesperson, and Shahzad, my point if contact in Canada, in my house in Islamabad.PM".
A photograph posted on Sunday by retired Gen Pervez Musharraf on his Facebook page just hours before the announcement by the government that it has decided to initiate his trial under Article 6 shows the former military ruler relaxing with two of his associates. The caption posted along with the picture read: "I was happy to see Raza(L), my International Spokesperson, and Shahzad, my point if contact in Canada, in my house in Islamabad.PM".

ISLAMABAD: A spokesman for former military ruler retired Gen Pervez Musharraf has termed the government’s decision to initiate his treason trial under Article 6 “a vicious attempt to undermine the Pakistani military”.

“We not only forcefully reject these charges, but also view them as a vicious attempt to undermine the Pakistani military. It is also a botched attempt by the government to temporarily take the focus away from existential threats faced by Pakistan,” said Dr Raza Bokhari, international spokesman and North American point of contact for Gen Musharraf, in a statement.

“We view with grave suspicion the timing of the announcement by the Taliban sympathetic Nawaz government to initiate treason proceedings against former president Musharraf,” he said. Moreover, he said, it was “unfortunate” that Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif was “obsessed by politics of personal vendetta” and was “criminalising the lawful acts of the Musharraf government”.

He said Gen Musharraf had declared a state of emergency on Nov 3, 2007, and held in abeyance certain sections of the constitution in exercise of powers vested in him by Article 232 of the Constitution.

“He took this much needed action to reform an activist segment of the judiciary and augment security operations against extremists and terrorists who were wreaking havoc in Pakistan.”

The spokesman further said it was important to note that the former president had acted after unanimous advice of the then prime minister, governors of all the four provinces, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee, chiefs of the armed forces, vice-chief of the army staff and the corps commanders of the Pakistan Army.

“It is also extremely important to remember that former president Musharraf also lifted the state of emergency on Dec 15, 2007, and fully restored the constitution,” he added.

Opinion

Editorial

IHK resolution
Updated 08 Nov, 2024

IHK resolution

If the BJP administration were to listen to Kashmiris, it could pave the way for the resumption of the political process in IHK.
Climate realities
08 Nov, 2024

Climate realities

THE Air Quality Index in Lahore once again shot past the 1,000-level mark on Wednesday morning, registering at an...
Rule by fear
08 Nov, 2024

Rule by fear

THE abduction of an opposition MNA, as claimed by PTI, is yet another grim episode in Pakistan’s ongoing crisis of...
Trump 2.0
Updated 07 Nov, 2024

Trump 2.0

It remains to be seen how his promises to bring ‘peace’ to Middle East reconcile with his blatantly pro-Israel bias.
Fait accompli
07 Nov, 2024

Fait accompli

A SLEW of secretively conceived and hastily enacted legislation has achieved its intended result: the powers of the...
IPP contracts
07 Nov, 2024

IPP contracts

THE government expects the ongoing ‘negotiations’ with power producers aimed at revising the terms of sovereign...