Daily Times

The war of words between PPP chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari and former president Pervez Musharraf has turned nasty. The PPP chairman has once again reiterated the party’s concerns that late Benazir Bhutto had warned of Musharraf’s involvement in plots to assassinate her.

The former president has responded in a particularly heinous manner, asking Bilawal to ‘first become a man’. Such misogyny is what men resort to when left with no rational arguments in their defence.

While sexism is deep-rooted in Pakistan’s politics, it is important to call out politicians and former public servants for such outlandish remarks. Musharraf’s diatribe was unbecoming of a political leader but it was not surprising, given that the former president has issued similar statements in the past. He once accused Pakistani women of getting themselves raped to get a foreign visa.

In a recent interview to the BBC, Musharraf claimed that ‘rogue elements’ within the military establishment could have been involved in Benazir’s murder. This suggests the former president had lost control of the military around the time when Bhutto was assassinated. Nevertheless, he needs to come clean on the security lapse allegations. Instead of muscle flexing, Musharraf may do well to explain as to why he is shying away from facing courts in Pakistan.

Having said that, the PPP chairman should refrain from merely levelling such accusations, especially when his party’s government did not investigate Musharraf and instead gave him a safe exit from Pakistan.

The party needs to contest the case on the legal front. As a matter of fact, the PPP must counter the public impression that it is not interested in pursuing BB’s murder case.

PPP leader Asif Ali Zardari had stated on multiple occasions during his presidency that the party knew who the killers were, yet no names were revealed. Former president Zardari should, therefore, also answer as to why the PPP government could not bring the killers to book during its five-year term. It is shocking that no PPP leader was present in the Rawalpindi anti-terrorism court to hear the verdict in BB murder case in August this year.

That the investigation into the case has remained unsatisfactory and no heads have rolled is unfortunate. And far from pursuing BB’s murder case, the PPP leadership is cosying up to the military establishment for short-term and eminently uncertain gains. *

Published in Daily Times, December 30^th 2017.