Musharraf Seeks US Support to Regain Power in Pakistan
By V K Gaur
New Delhi, January 1, 2019: General Pervez Musharraf, the former Pakistani dictator and architect of Kargil infiltration of 1999 that nearly drove India and Pakistan full-fledged Indo -Pak war. In an undated leaked video, he was seen seeking secret US support to regain power. He is aware that the present government of Pakistan under Imran Khan is weak and could be toppled with foreign support.
He was seen in the video telling American lawmakers that he was "ashamed" of the ISI being negligent about the al Qaeda chief Osama Bin Laden's whereabouts. He is heard saying on video, "All I am saying is, I have certain credentials from the past. I need to come (to power) again and I need to be supported. Not overtly, but in a covert manner. So that we win again."
The video clips were made viral reportedly by dissident Pakistani columnist Gul Bukhari.
Musharraf lives in Dubai since March 2016 after he escaped from Pakistan ostensibly for medical treatment. He did not return ever since, citing security and health reasons. He is facing the treason case for illegally suspending the Constitution. It is a punishable offence for which he was indicted in 2014.
Needless to say that Pervez Musharraf a Muhajir( born 11 August 1943 in Delhi and raised in Karachi and Istanbul) was the tenth President of Pakistan from 2001 until tendering his resignation, to avoid impeachment, in 2008.
Musharraf rose to prominence when he was elevated as the head of the Pakistani Armed Forces by then-Prime Minister Sharif in October 1998. He was responsible for Kargil fiasco in 1999. After months of contentious relations with Prime Minister Sharif, he unsuccessfully attempted to remove Musharraf from the army's leadership. In retaliation, he staged a coup d'étatin 1999 which allowed Musharraf to take-over Pakistan and subsequently placed Prime Minister Sharif under house-arrest. Nawaz Sharif finally landed in Adiala Prison for trial.
Musharraf's government was also accused of human rights abuses.
Musharraf's position was dramatically weakened in early 2008. He tendered his resignation in a threat to face potential impeachment movement led by the ruling Pakistan People's Party in 2008. Musharraf moved to London in self-imposed exile. He later returned to Pakistan to participate in the general elections held in 2013. However, he was faced with
legal battles after the country's high courts issued warrants against him and Aziz for their alleged involvement in the assassinations of Benazir Bhutto and Bugti- the Baloch leader. Musharraf was disqualified from taking part in the elections by High Court judges in April 2013. On 31 March 2014, Musharraf was booked and charged with high treason for implementing emergency rule and suspending the constitution in 2007. \
On 31 August 2017, he was declared an "absconder" by Pakistan’s anti-terrorism court in the verdict of Benazir Bhutto murder case.
Musharraf thinks it is opportune time to stage a comeback. Several factors have made the present Army Chief of Pakistan and Behind the curtain power broker the ISI most powerful. The present incumbent PM is on their mercy. The Political arena is opaque with most of the top leaders trembling under the clutches of powerful lobby managing the operation of National Accountability Bureau (NAB).
The top court on 24 December banned the sale, purchase and transfer of properties owned by three business groups after a Joint Investigation Team (JIT) submitted its report revealing that Rs42 billion was laundered through 29 fake bank accounts that had also been used to pay expenses of former president Asif Zardari’s home.