Pakistan’s former military ruler Parvez Musharraf met US Congressional delegation and indicated that he wants a graceful exile.
Islamabad, May 2/Nationalturk – Pakistan’s former military ruler General (Retd) Parvez Musharraf, who has been detained at his Chak Shahzad farm house in Islamabad, met five member US Congressional delegation and told them that he does not want to leave the country as a deserter but wants a graceful exile
According to Pakistan newspaper, The Nation, a five-member US Congressional delegation held a meeting with Musharraf at his Chak Shahzad sub-jail residence yesterday.
The US delegation was led by senator Joe Donnelly and included Senators Heidi Heitkamp, Tammy Baldwin and Chris Murphy, and Congressman Peter Welch. US envoy to Pakistan Richard Olson also accompanied the delegation.
The Nation quoted sources as saying that US delegation discussed in detail with Musharraf the present status of his trial and its impact on his party and Pakistan’s political situation.
“The former president told the US delegation that he did not want to leave the country as a deserter but with dignity and honour. He told them that he, being an Army commando, was not afraid of cases against him but he wanted justice from the investigators and the higher courts,” they said.
This meeting, if it had taken place, is significant as some media reports have reported that Pakistan’s military was unhappy over Musharraf’s ill-treatment. Media reports have suggested that Pakistan’s powerful military and the caretaker government wanted a safe and dignified passage for the former military ruler to leave the country.
I don’t trust courts: Musharraf
“Musharraf told the US delegation that he did not trust the courts because the lawyers’ and judges were out to seek revenge from him because of his past actions against the judiciary,” sources said.
They said Musharraf also complained to US delegation that his close associates too were in hot waters these days and facing fake cases from the lawyers’ community.
Earlier, on March 24, 2013 Musharraf returned to Pakistan after more than four years in self exile. His return has backfired and he became the first former army chief to be arrested in Pakistan when police took him into custody at their headquarters.
On April 20, a court remanded the former president in custody for two weeks, a deadline set to expire on May 4, as judges pushed ahead with plans to put Musharraf on trial for a crackdown on the judiciary during his time in office.
On Tuesday, an anti-terrorism court in the garrison city of Rawalpindi put Musharraf on a 14-day judicial remand for charges of failing to provide adequate security for former prime minister Benazir Bhutto before her 2007 assassination. The new deadline of May 14 means Musharraf will be in detention on election day.
Musharraf seized power in a bloodless coup as army chief in 1999 and left the country after stepping down in August 2008, when Asif Ali Zardari was elected president after the murder of his wife, former prime minister Benazir Bhutto.
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Faiz Ahmad / NationalTurk Pakistan News
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