Daily Times

ISLAMABAD: Opposition and ruling legislators in the upper house of the parliament on Tuesday held each other responsible for former military ruler Pervez Musharraf’s departure from the country.

Some senators even suggested removal of Article 6 from the Constitution because it looked difficult to implement it. Some senators said stop point scoring over Musharraf’s departure and do not create a situation, which could invite another dictator to take over the country.

Opening the discussion on his motion on implications of Musharraf’s departure from the country, Senator Farhatullah Babar said the former dictator’s departure from the country showed that a military dictator could subvert the constitution in future and escape treason trial even if the parliament and the courts want this.

He said that previously all military interventions had the fig leaf of endorsement from the PCO judges and a handpicked parliament. He said that Musharraf sabotaged the constitution more than anyone else. Far from endorsing the Nov 3, 2007 sabotage, he said, the parliament and the highest court called for trial of Musharraf under the treason law. He recalled the unanimous resolution of the Senate of April 18, 2013 and prime minister’s address to the National Assembly on June 24, 2013 in this regard. “This new disturbing political statement that no dictator in the future can be tried under Article 6 must not be allowed to take roots,” he said.

He said that Musharraf’s motorcade escorted by security guards was mysteriously diverted to a government hospital in Rawalpindi instead of the court where he was supposed to appear in connection with the treason trial, and the hospital welcomed him. Then came the sit-in, which discredited the civilian government and the parliament, but legitimised the establishment. Whether it was orchestrated or not, the net effect was that the sit-in made the civilian set up vulnerable and too weak to pursue the treason trial.

Balochistan Senators Usman Kakar and Mir Kabeer termed Musharraf as a killer of late Nawab Akbar Bugti and root-cause of terrorism in the country. They regretted that the higher courts and the government allowed him to go abroad. PPP Senator Aajaz Dhamrah regretted that founder of the Constitution Zulfikar Ali Bhutto was martyred, but the violator of the constitution was allowed to go abroad. PTI Senator Mohsin Aziz said the executive allowed Musharraf to go abroad. PML-N Senator Nihal Hashmi said that Musharraf went abroad due to the fear of Article 6. He said the Article 6 was very strong. MQM Senator Shaikh Ateeq asked that why some members wanted the Musharraf case to proceed according to their wishes.

MQM Senator Muhammad Ali Saif said that another dictator would come and change the entire system if politicians would not change their behaviour. He said that political parties should have stood up against the dictator when he was in power. He said the forces in the uniform were taking some unconstitutional steps even today.

Winding up the debate, State Minister for Interior Balighur Rehman said that Musharraf went abroad on the direction of the Sindh High Court. He said the federal government challenged Sindh High Court’s verdict in the Supreme Court. The minister said the incumbent government did not give Musharraf a guard of honour.

The senators also discussed Panama leaks. Taking part in the debate, Babar said that unfortunately the politicians were squabbling over the issue instead of identifying the underlying causes. He said that prime minister’s family had been accused of building foreign assets; therefore, it was not appropriate for him to nominate a commission and decide its terms of reference.

Any decision on the investigation commission and its terms of reference should be taken by the parliament. He said the Panama leaks issue would not die down, as it was an international issue and the entire nation wanted a thorough probe into it. Several other senators also took part in the discussion.

Opposing an adjournment motion, Minister for Defence Khawaja Muhammad Asif said the arrest of RAW agent Kulbhushan Yadav was a breakthrough and it led to other leads and networks of foreign agents, which were being dismantled. He said that investigations were underway and Pakistan was taking this issue up at various forums. He said the government had indisputable and unimpeachable evidence of Indian involvement in terrorism in Pakistan. The minister was opposing an adjournment motion moved by senators Mohsin Leghari, Azam Swati, Mohsin Aziz, Sehar Kamran and Hafiz Hamdullah for a discussion on the activities of the RAW in Balochistan and the arrest of the RAW agent.

The minister said he opposed the adjournment motion due to sensitivity of the issue. He said the Senate Standing Committee on Defence had been briefed about the matter. He said the RAW agent was involved in terrorist activities in Balochistan in connivance with the local groups. He said that Pakistan had already handed over dossiers to the UN and the US about the Indian involvement in terrorist activities in Pakistan. He said that more such dossiers would be handed over to the world powers soon.

The Senate chairman however ruled that if a standing committee could be briefed, the House should also be briefed about the Indian involvement in terrorist activities in Pakistan. He held the motion in order and ruled that discussion on the motion would be held in-camera on Wednesday.