ISLAMABAD: Pakistan's former military ruler Pervez Musharraf on Sunday denounced treason charges against him as a “vendetta”, and said he had the backing of the country's powerful army.

The 70-year-old told reporters the “whole army” was upset with the treason allegations, in his first comments to international media since he was put under house arrest in April.

The treason claims are the latest and potentially most serious in a flurry of criminal cases relating to Musharraf's nine-year rule that he has faced since returning to Pakistan in March.

The case puts the government on a possible collision course with the all-powerful army, which is seen as being reluctant to witness its former chief suffer the indignity of being tried by a civilian court.

“I would say the whole army is upset. I have led the army from the front,” Musharraf told reporters.

“I have no doubt with the feedback that I received that the whole army is... Totally with me on this issue.”

The military, which has ruled Pakistan for more than half of its 66-year history and still wields great influence, has not made any clear public comment on Musharraf's legal woes.

The treason charges relate to Musharraf's imposition of emergency rule in Nov 2007, and if found guilty he could face the death penalty or life imprisonment.

An initial hearing in the case, being heard by a special tribunal, was halted on Dec 24 after explosives were found along the route Musharraf was to take to court.

The case is due to resume on Jan 1, but Musharraf said he had not yet decided whether or not he would attend.

“The way this tribunal was formed, which involved the prime minister and the ex-chief justice, this itself smacks a little bit of a vendetta,” he said Sunday.

Musharraf's lawyers have dismissed the charges as an attempt by the government of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, who Musharraf ousted in a coup in 1999, to settle old scores through the courts.

Legal barrage

Musharraf returned to Pakistan to run in May's general election — won by Sharif — but his homecoming proved to be disastrous.

He was barred from running for office almost immediately and then hit with a series of serious criminal allegations dating back to his time in power, which ended in 2008.

These include murder charges over the assassination in late 2007 of former prime minister Benazir Bhutto, as well as the death of Baloch leader Nawab Akbar Bugti, a deadly military raid on a radical mosque and the detention of judges.

Musharraf's tribulations represent a dramatic change in fortunes for the man who led Pakistan into its alliance with Washington's “war on terror” and was a staunch ally of then-US president George W. Bush.

To add to the former commando's humiliation, in April he was placed under house arrest — an unprecedented move against a former army chief in Pakistan.

He has now been granted bail in all of the cases against him and is technically a free man, but threats to his life mean he lives under heavy guard in his farmhouse on the edge of Islamabad.

The cases have ground through the country’s notoriously slow legal system, moving from adjournment to adjournment with little clear progress made apart from the granting of bail.

There have been persistent rumours that a deal would be struck to let him leave the country before facing the courts to avoid a clash between the army and government.

But no deal has been forthcoming and last week, speaking publicly for the first time since his house arrest began, Musharraf vowed to stay and fight to clear his name.

As the treason case has drawn closer, Musharraf's team have stepped up their media campaign in an effort to enlist international support.

At a press conference in London last week, his British lawyers said they had written to urge the UN to intervene in what they called a “stage-managed show trial”.

They also urged London and Washington to support Musharraf to “repay their debt” for his support in the wake of the 9/11 attacks.

From the Newspaper:

INFLATED ASSESSMENT: Defence analyst Talat Masood, himself a retired general, voiced scepticism about Mr Musharraf’s claims of widespread support among the military.

He said that while some elements might be sympathetic, to say that the whole army was behind Mr Musharraf was an “inflated assessment”.

“The army has already given its nod as far as the trial is concerned,” Mr Masood told AFP.

“Some who have not reconciled with this reality will have to accept it later. Army has already accepted the reality.”

Mr Musharraf returned to Pakistan to run in May’s general election but it proved to be a disastrous homecoming. He was barred from running for office and hit with a series of serious criminal allegations dating back to his time in power, which ended in 2008.

These include murder charge over the assassination in 2007 of former prime minister Benazir Bhutto, as well as charges over the death of Nawab Akbar Bugti, a deadly military action against militants in Red Mosque and the detention of judges.

He has now been granted bail in all of the cases against him and is technically a free man, but Taliban threats to kill him mean he lives under heavy guard.

Nothing has come so far of persistent rumours that a deal would be struck to let him leave Pakistan before facing the courts to avoid a clash between the army and government.

Mr Masood said he felt the case is a watershed in civilian-military relations, with the government trying to prove that not even senior officers are above the law.

As the treason case has drawn closer, Mr Musharraf’s team has stepped up their media campaign to try to enlist international support.

At a press conference in London last week, his British lawyers urged the United Nations to intervene in what they called a “stage-managed show trial” and asked London and Washington to “repay their debt” for Mr Musharraf’s support in the wake of the 9/11 attacks.—AFP