Pervez Musharraf is a retired general of the Pakistan Army who served as the 10th president of Pakistan. After his resignation from the office of the president, he formed his own political party called All Pakistan Muslim League (APML). The former military ruler has also written an autobiography titled In the Line of Fire which was published in 2006.
Introduction
Musharraf was born in pre-Partition Delhi on August 11, 1943. After the Partition, his family settled in Karachi where he attended Saint Patrick’s School. Later, he joined the Pakistan Military Academy at Kakul and graduated from the institution in 1964. He was subsequently commissioned in the Pakistan Army.
His first battlefield experience came during the 1965 Indo-Pak war and he served in the elite Special Services Group (SSG) from 1966-1972. During the 1971 war with India, Musharraf was a company commander of an SSG commando battalion. After 1971, he continued to excel in several military assignments and gained rapid promotions within the army.
In October 1998, he was appointed as chief of army staff by the then premier Nawaz Sharif. Musharraf’s name became known in the wake of the Kargil conflict for which the retired general has been severely criticised both at home and internationally. In October 1999, he overthrew Sharif’s government in a bloodless coup and later became the country’s president.
The 1999 coup
On October 12, 1999, troops took over the Prime Minister House after Sharif prevented Musharraf from landing at Karachi airport upon his journey back from Sri Lanka.
On finding out, Musharraf declared a state of emergency, suspended the Constitution and assumed the role of chief executive. There were no organised protests against the coup within Pakistan but the measure was thoroughly criticised by the international community. In June 2001, Musharraf became the president of Pakistan.
As President
The 9/11 attacks took place just a few months after Musharraf became President. He subsequently entered Pakistan into an alliance with the United States in the latter’s ‘war on terror’, a decision the former military ruler has defended on several occasions.
Musharraf held a general election in October 2002 during which he allied himself with Pakistan Muslim League – Quaid (PML-Q), Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) and an alliance of six religious parties called Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal (MMA). With this election, Musharraf was able to gather the required two-thirds majority to pass the 17th Amendment which helped in legitimising the 1999 coup as well as several other measures adopted by him.
Later in January 2004, Musharraf won a confidence vote by both houses of Parliament and the four provincial assemblies by a majority of 56 per cent and was declared elected in a process disputed by his political opponents.
Women legislation, representation and controversies
During his presidency, the instrumental yet divisive Protection of Women Bill, 2006 was passed. The bill placed rape laws under the penal code and did away with harsh conditions that previously required victims to produce four male witnesses and exposed them to prosecution for adultery if they were unable to prove the crime.
Also in his tenure, the number of reserved seats for women in assemblies was significantly increased with the stated objective of ensuring higher levels of female representation in the country’s lawmaking bodies.
On the other hand, however, Musharraf’s response to two high-profile rape cases compromised his reputation. The cases were those of Dr Shazia, a female physician who had accused an army captain of the crime, and Mukhtar Mai, who was denied the right to travel abroad until Musharraf finally succumbed to international pressure.
These instances were followed by Musharraf’s interview with the Washington Post in which he said rape victims in Pakistan used their tragedies as a means of making money and obtaining foreign visas. The comments unleashed furious public protests by rights activists who demanded that he apologise. Although Musharraf later denied making these comments, the Washington Post released an audio recording of the interview in which the said remarks were made.
Lal Masjid operation
Musharraf also gave a go-ahead for the Lal Masjid operation which was launched to counter the clerics and students of Lal Masjid, Jamia Hafsa and Jamia Fareedia who were taking steps in order to enforce their self-styled view of Islam.
The operation was carried out in July 2007 and Musharraf and his government received harsh criticism over it.
Suspension of the chief justice and emergency
In March 2007, Musharraf suspended Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry after the latter refused to resign allegedly over abusing his office. The incident unleashed violent protests by lawyers and civil society activists and Musharraf’s handling of these further tarnished his reputation. On June 20, 2007, the Supreme Court reinstated the chief justice and declared Musharraf’s suspension of the former as void.
However, the chief justice was again deposed when Musharraf imposed a state of emergency in the country on November 3, 2007. Within 25 days of the emergency in place, Musharraf resigned from his position of army chief, with General Ashfaq Pervaiz Kayani taking charge. Musharraf, who was still president at the time, finally lifted the emergency on December 15, 2007.
Impeachment and resignation
After giving Musharraf the chance to voluntarily resign, the PPP-led coalition government at the centre – formed after the 2008 general election – initiated a parliamentary procedure to impeach him. Musharraf initially refused to resign and the coalition began official proceedings for his ouster. However, he voluntarily left the post before the impeachment could be finalised.
Formation of APML and return to Pakistan
In 2010, Musharraf launched his political party — All Pakistan Muslim League (APML).
Since 2011, he had been discussing his plans of returning to Pakistan and taking part in the election. He eventually came back to the country on March 24, 2013.
Although, he set out to contest the 2013 polls from four National Assembly seats — NA-48 (Islamabad-I), NA-250 (Karachi-XII), NA-139 (Kasur-II) and NA-32 (Chitral) — his nomination papers were only accepted from the Chitral seat.
Cases against Musharraf
Musharraf has been named in the cases pertaining to Benazir Bhutto’s murder, Nawab Akbar Bugti’s killing and the ‘illegal confinement’ of 62 judges after the November 2007 emergency. However, in March 2013, the Sindh High Court granted him protective bail in all three cases.
Rights activists and political parties have demanded that Musharraf be tried for treason under Article 6 of the Constitution and the Supreme Court has been hearing petitions in this regard.
Research and text by Soonha Abro
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