Former military officers react to special court ruling in Musharraf high treason case

Former military strongmen have weighed in on the conviction of former president General (retired) Pervez Musharraf for high treason by a special court. In television talks shows aired on Tuesday night, several former military officers expressed disappointment over the verdict.

A special court bench comprising Justice Waqar Ahmad Seth of the Peshawar High Court, Justice Nazar Akbar of the Sindh High Court and Justice Shahid Karim of the Lahore High Court had on Tuesday convicted Musharraf for high treason and handed him the death penalty.

In a report published by The News, Lieutenant General (retired) Naeem Khalid Lodhi, Lieutenant General (retired) Ghulam Mustafa, Major General (retired) Ejaz Awan, Brigadier (retired) Haris Nawaz, Lieutenant General (retired) Talat Masood, and others expressed their opinions on the matter.

According to Lodhi, the imposition of the emergency in Pakistan back in 2007 was a collective decision and holding one person responsible for it was not reflective of a high standard of justice. "The tribunal was being given directions to proceed in certain manner," he alleged.

Echoing the comments of Lodhi, Mustafa said that such decisions caused anguish and the judgement was a very sorry state of affairs with regards to the judiciary."I am shocked that the CJP did not intervene into the attack at the Lahore hospital, but hinted at a verdict in Musharraf case."

Major General (retired) Awan, reacting to the special court ruling, had said the verdict highlighted the different standards of justice for different people in the country. " I strongly reject declaring the former COAS, who fought wars for Pakistan, as a traitor," he maintained.

Brig (retired) Nawaz, commenting on the verdict against the former army chief, had last night said that the reaction of the army  against the judgment was entirely justified as the statement given out by ISPR was reflective of the reaction of the entire Pakistan Army to the court ruling.

Lieut Gen (retd) Talat Masood also weighed in on the verdict, saying that neither Gen (retd) Musharraf, nor his legal team, seriously contested the case. He said that if the former COAS had appeared in the court or recorded his statement through video link, perhaps things would have been different. 

Originally published in The News