Former military dictator Pervez Musharraf ought to be thanking his lucky stars at the moment. Caught between a rock and a hard place ever since his return to Pakistan before the general elections this year, he now finds himself out on bail in all four of the cases in court against him. The latest case is the one concerning the death of Lal Masjid cleric Abdul Rasheed Ghazi in the siege of the mosque in 2007. However, not all is behind him. For now the issue of the Benazir Bhutto assassination case and the killing of Nawab Akbar Bugti are still sub judice and Musharraf himself is still on the Exit Control List (ECL). While he may still be under guard at his farmhouse in the capital, the saga of our ex-president has not come to an end.
Riding in on a high horse in April this year, Musharraf thought he would be welcomed by all and sundry due to the popularity of his Facebook page — his only link to the citizens of Pakistan while he was in self-proclaimed exile in London. He came home to a rude awakening when the handcuffs were slapped on him and he was put under house arrest for his involvement in the above-mentioned cases. Now that he is out on bail, one sees how the PPP and the whole of Balochistan are uneasy about the military strongman being granted relative freedom. Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif himself is no fan of Musharraf but he has been sitting quietly and watching from the sidelines. It is worth mentioning that what has happened to Musharraf ever since his re-emergence on Pakistan’s political landscape is an anomaly: it is the first time a prominent military leader — one who has remained the head of state for many years — has been hauled up by the country’s judiciary and made to answer for his deeds. This is unprecedented and it is hoped will set an example for other adventurers. There are still too many ambiguities as far as Musharraf’s role is concerned in the cases still pending against him. Whilst only time will tell, it is hoped that the former dictator learns from this harsh lesson and, if he manages to wriggle free of the long arm of the law, looks to make his fortune in other pastures. *