Skepticism over Musharraf being put on treason trial: Pak editorial

An editorial in a Pakistan daily has expressed skepticism about the Nawaz Sharif government going ahead with the trial of former President General Pervez Musharraf.

According to the editorial, no one should take lightly the possible reaction of the military to a treason case carrying a possible death sentence being pursued against its former chief.

The Daily Times said that it had doubts over whether General Headquarters would be inclined to swallow such humiliation in a country where the armed forces have been dominant for a majority of its existence.

It points out that Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali's move to send a letter to the law ministry to implement the government's decision, and the government's reported move to approach the Supreme Court of Pakistan to set up a special tribunal for trying Musharraf for high treason, could set off a virtual administrative storm or backlash.

Some have already described the government's move as unconstitutional, unnecessary, and an attempted distraction from the sectarian violence in Rawalpindi.

The editorial reveals that there have also been questions raised about why only the November 3, 2007 Emergency charge is being pursued and not the more serious, bloodless coup of October 12, 1999, in which an elected government was overthrown.

It also points out that supporters of Musharraf have called the proposed trial for treason as illegitimate and vengeful.

It concludes by saying that should the treason trial of Musharraf take place, it will be a first in the country's history.

In the only other instance in our history, Yahya Khan was declared a usurper by the courts only after his death.