Daily Times

It hardly comes as a surprise that Musharraf’s name is not on the Exit Control List, that he is granted bail in the serious cases against him such as the killing of Nawab Akbar Bugti, Benazir Bhutto’s murder and the judges’ case. It will just be another ordinary day when he will be granted bail in the latest petition moved against him over the Lal Masjid siege that saw him re-arrested after the Supreme Court (SC) had granted him bail in the last case in which he had not so far obtained bail: the Akbar Bugti killing. In fact it was being speculated before this latest turn of events that Musharraf would be allowed to travel not only inside, but even outside the county freely. Cynics would say it was only a matter of time before any illusions about the will of the political leaders of the country would stand exposed. That they could indict a former COAS who had also been the president was already a daring leap against the coup maker who toppled the elected government of Nawaz Sharif in 1999. But to expect anything beyond or anticipate that the legal process would be pursued to the bitter end was perhaps something that the army would be reluctant to allow. Musharraf has a list of serious charges against him, the biggest being the abrogation of the constitution and deposing the superior judiciary, which later became the cause of his removal from power. Yet the fact that he was granted bail by the same institution speaks volumes for the real situation. It would have been a turning point in Pakistan’s history had an ex-COAS been held responsible for violating the constitution. Despite such promises our leaders kept making during electioneering, that was always going to be a fond hope. It is the lack of political will across the board that makes facing Pakistan’s most powerful institution a formidable challenge.

Musharraf has been held under house arrest at his mansion on the outskirts of Islamabad because his lawyers successfully argued that it was too dangerous for him to go to jail, where other prisoners might attack him. Now there are only two options through which he could be finally relieved of his ordeal. Either the cases would be taken to their logical end or the hesitant approach of the political leadership would prevail and he would be given safe passage out of the country. On present trends, the chances of the latter seem greater. *