Musharraf says leaves treason trial issue to COAS Raheel Sharif

ISLAMABAD: Former army chief and president of Pakistan, Gen (Retd) Pervez Musharraf says he leaves his treason trial issue to incumbent Chief of the Army Staff (COAS), Gen Raheel Shairf, Geo News reported.

"I would say the whole army is upset. Certainly, they wouldn’t like anything happening to their ex-army chief, said the retired general while talking to a foreign news agency Monday.

In the same breath he also made it clear that army was not his last hope.

"Though the army chief has the final word but the top brass always goes through due consultations before an important decision is taken. Let’s see what the COAS does in this case”, said he.

Earlier, talking to media Sunday Musharraf said that he held current army chief General Raheel Sharif in "high esteem” and called him a "straight dealer."

He said he had tremendous support in the US, while saying that he did not expect the US to offer any public support for his legal situation.

Calling the treason trial a frame-up, Musharraf said he hoped the independent judiciary and the Supreme Court of Pakistan would do justice in his case.

Boasting about his tenure as the president of Pakistan, Musharraf claimed that not only the army but also the laymen still remembered his reforms, which put the country on the road to progress.

"My economic reforms alleviated the poverty to a level unparalleled by past regimes. During my time someone who could only afford to buy a motorcycle became able to own a car", the former president said.

“After having done so much for the development and welfare of the people, is this what I deserve?”

Later talking to Geo News, he raised alarm about his security.

"I fear for my life from Mullah Fazlullah led Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan, Baloch Liberation Army, Lal Masjid, and al-Qaeda", said the retired general.

He said that Talal Bugti, the son of late tribal leader Nawab Akbar Bugti, had even set a bounty on him.

On August 26, 2006, Akbar Bugti, who was the leader of Bugti tribe, was killed during a military operation launched against him by Musharraf.

Musharraf faces trial on treason accusations for actions taken while president from 2001 to 2008. He returned from exile in March and was charged under the government of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, whom Musharraf deposed in a 1999 coup.

Pakistan Army has not made any direct public comment on the case. But it is thought to be reluctant to have its former chief suffer the indignity of trial by a civilian court.