IT is a rather extraordinary and thoroughly self-inflicted descent into ignominy.

Pervez Musharraf, the brash general whose dictatorial rule over Pakistan left no one in doubt who was really in charge, has told the FIA that the November 2007 emergency was the result of a vast consultative exercise, imposed on the advice of then-prime minister Shaukat Aziz and approved by soon-to-be army chief Ashfaq Kayani, among many other senior political and military functionaries at the time.

Gen Musharraf, it seems, was so enfeebled that he could not possibly have acted on his own — at least as far as he himself can tell. The November 2007 emergency required principal offenders, aiders, abettors and collaborators so numerous that it is — again according to Gen Musharraf — simply wrong and unfair to target him alone.

It is an unbelievable tale, particularly since Gen Musharraf handpicked Mr Aziz and Gen Kayani for the slots of prime minister and army chief, respectively. Yet, it is also fairly obvious why Gen Musharraf has chosen to go down this ignominious path and try and spread the blame onto former allies and colleagues.

While it has been apparent for a while that Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif’s bid to have Gen Musharraf tried for treason has been delayed, and likely blocked, by the military establishment, the prime minister has not given any indication that he is willing to let Gen Musharraf simply walk free.

The trial itself was thrown into turmoil by the special tribunal’s insistence that former chief justice Abdul Hameed Dogar and former law minister Zahid Hamid also be investigated.

Now, with the FIA conducting its inquiry anew and the likelihood that it may complete its job soon, there is a possibility that Gen Musharraf could face renewed legal jeopardy.

In a rather transparent calculation to help stave off that possibility, the legal team of Gen Musharraf appears determined to draw in as many individuals as possible to make a fresh trial unlikely.

The direct reference to Gen Kayani as a principal offender, an aider and abettor in the continuation of the emergency seems particularly designed to draw the military further into the equation.

If the military establishment is skittish about seeing one former army chief tried on treason, it will be doubly concerned about two former chiefs facing treason charges — especially if the two are the immediate predecessors of Gen Raheel Sharif. Ignominious and desperate as Gen Musharraf’s chosen strategy may be, could it be a winning one?

Published in Dawn, December 24th, 2015