Former president Pervez Musharraf.—AFP

ISLAMABAD: It was mainly somebody’s “silence” that Gen Pervez Musharraf heard, to be driven out of power more than two years ago, according to Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain, the former military president’s top political backer at the time.

The PML-Q president gave some insight into the last days of nine years in power of Pakistan’s fourth military ruler during an interview with Dawn, describing how the former commando, who often boasted to fight out any challenges rather than run away, seemed unnerved by an apparent lack of army support that he opted to resign from the presidency in August 2008 instead of facing a threatened impeachment by parliament.

Chaudhry Shujaat declined to name the person whose silence was perceived to have done the trick, but he seemed to be referring to Chief of the Army Staff Gen Ashfaq Parvez Kayani, who is known to be man of few words.

The PML-Q chief said he had asked Gen Musharraf to get ready to face impeachment threatened by the PPP and the PML-N, and assured him support of his party.

But he said then president Musharraf, who had already given up as army chief after getting himself elected as president, was reluctant though he claimed to continuing to enjoy army’s support.

“The army is with me, but … ,” Chaudhry Shujaat quoted the former president as telling him and citing the commanders of the force as all being his juniors and “this and that” as the reasons when asked if he had army’s support and explained the proviso of “but” as: “He remains silent, he speaks little.”

He said the hidden message of that silence was Gen Musharraf’s “main reason” for giving up the presidency and indicated that the same was the main factor behind his decision to give up uniform after his re-election.

Asked about Musharraf’s compulsion to impose emergency on Nov 3, 2007, the PML-Q chief said his party was told it was necessary for law and order after an attack on former interior minister Aftab Sherpao and some other similar incidents.

“But the hidden factors were aimed to somehow subjugate the judiciary. We only partly agreed to the imposition of emergency and it was the decision of the president and then prime minister Shaukat Aziz.”

The PML-Q chief also distanced himself from Musharraf’s promulgation of the controversial National Reconciliation Ordinance (NRO) and said Benazir Bhutto had demanded it to which the president agreed on the condition of getting himself elected as president in uniform.

He denied Musharraf’s statement in one of his interviews that Ms Bhutto had demanded lifting of a ban on seeking a third term as prime minister but the Chaudhry brothers had opposed such a course on the ground that she would be considered the next prime minister even before the elections.

He said there was no direct American involvement in the affair though there was some through the British in the deal for Musharraf to be president and Ms Bhutto prime minister.

“He (Musharraf) was convinced (about the PML-Q) that now their time is over, they had been used up.”

Asked if Gen Musharraf made any deliberate effort to prevent the PML-Q members from being elected, he said all district coordination officers were instructed a month before the election not to favour the PML-Q.

Asked about any progress after last month’s talks for cooperation held between Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi and Law and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Babar Awan, Chaudhry Shujaat said Mr Elahi had asked if the government had any proposals.

“Things have not moved beyond this … and those proposals have not yet come.”

On what would be the PML-Q’s choice for cooperation if it were to be between the PPP and PML-N, he said: “Nawaz Sharif is sitting on a very high (pedestal) now and he thinks if he gives ticket to a khamba (electric pole) it will be elected.”

(The interview was also conducted by Ahmed Hassan and Khawar Ghumman)