In Pakistan, Musharraf’s treason trial is about revenge, not justice

HYDERABAD, Pakistan — On October 12, 1999, Army chief of staff, Gen. Pervez Musharraf overthrew Nawaz Sharif-led elected government in a military coup. He imprisoned Sharif, ruled Pakistan for almost nine years and resigned in 2008 after the newly elected parliament threatened to impeach him.

Musharraf went into self-imposed exile, created a new political party called All Pakistan Muslim League and returned to the country planning to run in the May 2013 general elections.

Today, Nawaz Sharif is in his third term as prime minister and Gen. Musharraf is facing a charge of high treason under Article Six of the 1973 Constitution. He may face death penalty or life imprisonment if convicted.

A three-member Special Court is hearing the case and has summoned the accused, but so far he has failed to appear. Musharraf’s lawyers argue that he is suffering from heart disease and is under treatment in the Armed Forces Institute of Cardiology, the army's premier hospital.

Musharraf is the first military dictator in Pakistan’s history facing trial for high treason. Nawaz Sharif's government claims that holding Musharraf accountable will help strengthen the democratic process, deter the army from dethroning elected governments and set precedent for the supremacy of the rule of law.

The treason case may be a harbinger of change, but for now it seems more a matter of selective justice and manipulation, casting serious doubts on the intentions of the government.

Musharraf has been charged not on the original sin of ousting the elected government in military coup, but on the lesser offense of imposing a state of emergency on November 3, 2007.

The logic behind this legal approach is simple and straightforward. Article Six of the Constitution states that any one who abrogates the Constitution or holds it in abeyance, and his abettors, are guilty of high treason. Under the Constitution, all who helped Musharraf in planning and executing the coup and strengthening his unconstitutional rule can be incriminated.

The list of abettors is long. It includes senior military officers, politicians and judges. Generals collaborated with Musharraf in perpetrating the unlawful act. Parliament gave it legal cover by passing 17th Amendment, a law that legalized the coup. Then Supreme Court approved the coup.

While the former prime minister, his cabinet ministers and many others, are free, it is deeply troubling to see Musharraf alone being tried.

Many elected members of parliament who gave standing ovations to Musharraf in 2007, chanting “Pakistan first,” are now part of the Nawaz Sharif government. Today, they give ovations to the incumbent prime minister when he says the law will take its due course in the treason case. They are not people's representatives but opportunists camouflaged in the dress of legislators who, also, must be brought to justice.

The discriminatory nature of the proceedings gives the impression that the treason case against Musharraf is about vendetta, not justice.

It must be noted that Pakistan’s powerful army, which has ruled the country for more than half its 67-year history, is a formidable force in the corridors of power. The military appears unhappy at the trial.

The treason charge against Gen. Musharraf cannot reverse the decades-old trend here in which parliamentarians and judges support a strongman.

In addition to a charge of high treason against Musharraf alone, the government should do justice to the Constitution by establishing an independent commission with the task of uncovering the truth about politically motivated crimes that have taken place. Names of alleged wrongdoers should be made public and punishment awarded according to the law.

This approach would create an opportunity for national reconciliation by building the foundation for supremacy of the rule of law and ending a long, dark era of dictatorships and subversion of the Constitution.

Deedar Hussain Samejo is a political science student and a columnist.