FROM leading the Kargil war in 1999 to drafting a peace plan for Kashmir with India in 2006, former military ruler Pervez Musharraf has carved a niche in history — as both a man of war and peace. Known for contradictions, he introduced the concept of basic democracy, allowed a rush of news channels dotting the country’s landscape, and familiarized transparency in government decisions, but at the same time subverted democracy, held the Constitution in abeyance and dismissed an elected government. Those who have dealt with Musharraf point out that he was both inspirational and exasperating, selfish and selfless, also at the same time humble and egotistical. On Tuesday, he became the second head of state in Pakistan after Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto who was handed over death sentence by the court. The former president was found guilty of high treason for imposing a state of emergency Nov. 3, 2007 by keeping the Constitution in abeyance. On Oct. 12, 1999, four months after the Kargil war ended, Musharraf in a coup ousted the then prime minister, Nawaz Sharif, amid high drama. A year earlier, Sharif had personally promoted him to the rank of army chief. He ruled Pakistan till 2008. The eventful period led the country to join the U.S.-led war on terror in Afghanistan. A cigar-smoking, whisky-drinking moderate, the general became a key U.S. ally in the “war on terror” after the Sept. 11 attacks and escaped at least three al-Qaida assassination attempts during his nine years in office. His rule faced no serious challenges until he tried to sack the chief justice in March 2007, sparking nationwide protests and months of turmoil that led to the imposition of a state of emergency. After the December 2007 assassination of former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto, the national mood soured further and he was left isolated by the crushing losses suffered by his allies in the February 2008 elections. Musharraf finally resigned in August 2008 in the face of impeachment proceedings by the new governing coalition and went into exile. Friends describe Musharraf as a professional soldier, but also a person who believed in show of power. He was born Aug. 11, 1943 in New Delhi. His family moved to Karachi after the birth of Pakistan in 1947. His father Syed Musharrafuddin was an accounts officer. Musharraf could speak the Turkish language fluently, as he had learnt it while studying a war course at Turkey’s Military Staff College. After ousting Nawaz from power, he disguised himself as “chief executive” until 2002, till he forced then President Rafiq Tarar to resign and declared himself president. He continued to hold this post till he was removed in 2008. Musharraf was in Sri Lanka on an official tour when the then prime minister decided to replace him with Gen Ziauddin, the then chief of the country’s spy agency — Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI). The plane carrying Musharraf was not allowed to land at the Karachi airport by Sharif. Four charges were brought against him in 2013 including one of treason under Article 6 of the Constitution. The case relates to “state of emergency,” suspending the Constitution and detaining senior political leaders and judges. He was named in murder of Akbar Bugti, former chief minister of Balochistan. He was also named in the murder of former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto. Ultimately, he was charged with confining judges, arresting and threatening besides illegally suspending the Constitution. A special court tried Musharraf for six years. However, the former military ruler appeared before the court only a couple of times. Nowadays he is in Dubai where he is battling multiple diseases including cardiac. The decision of the special court to hang him can be challenged in higher courts. Many people, however, believe that Musharraf brought a slew of reforms in the Pakistani system. He is also credited for increasing the role of women in parliament and somehow stabilizing the economy. Pakistan’s military denounced the special court’s ruling, saying in a statement that the armed forces were in “pain and anguish” over the decision. “An ex-army chief, chairman joint chief of Staff Committee and president of Pakistan, who has served the country for over 40 years, fought wars for the defense of the country, can surely never be a traitor,” the military said in a statement. It added that the legal process “seems to have been ignored.” The trial began in 2013 and is one of several involving Musharraf. It centered on his decision to suspend the Constitution and impose emergency rule in 2007, according to his lawyer Akhtar Shah. The move sparked widespread protests against Musharraf, ultimately leading to his resignation in the face of impeachment proceedings. Musharraf’s lawyer said the former general was currently ill. He said no decision had been made on whether to appeal. The nation’s current top prosecutor, Attorney General Anwar Mansoor Khan, said the judgement was “against the constitution.” “If the person who is accused is not getting justice, this government will stand against that injustice,” he said. The court ruling came more than a week after Musharraf dismissed the treason case against him in a video message showing the former general in a hospital bed appearing ill while complaining of dizziness and blackouts. “I think this case is baseless. They are not listening to me and they are not listening to my lawyer. It is a big injustice,” Musharraf said. Retired general Talat Masood, now a security analyst, called the court’s decision “extraordinary” and “bold.” The judiciary has been increasingly assertive in its battle with the military to establish the rule of law. Three weeks ago, the Supreme Court struck down a three-year extension of army chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa’s tenure, saying there were no legal or constitutional grounds to grant the general another term after his retirement Nov. 29. It is the first time in the republic’s 72-year history that a military ruler has been tried with high treason — in this case for imposing emergency rule and suspending the Constitution in 2007. Musharraf, as the army chief, toppled the civilian government of ex-premier Nawaz Sharif in 1999 and later became the country’s military president. The south Asian nation has a history of being ruled by army dictators, who have imposed four martial laws since independence from the U.K. in 1947. The verdict will “have a major positive impact on democracy and the rule of law as after decades, a person has been tried and sentenced,” Ahmed Bilal Mehboob, president of the Pakistan Institute of Legislative Development and Transparency, said in Islamabad. “It will have a deterrent value.” Musharraf was a key ally of the U.S. after the Sept. 11 attacks in New York until he was forced to step down in 2008 to avoid impeachment by parliament. Sharif began treason proceedings against Musharraf soon after he came back to power in 2013. Pakistan’s biggest political parties, whose government’s have been toppled at least once in the past by military dictators, welcomed the verdict. “The verdict is historic and it will be welcomed by all democratic forces,” said Ahsan Iqbal, a senior leader of Sharif’s Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz party. “Democracy is the best revenge,” tweeted Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, who is the co-chief of Pakistan Peoples Party, echoing his mother’s comments before she was slain in a terrorist attack in 2007. Bilawal’s grandfather, Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto, was removed as the prime minister by ex-General Zia-ul-Haq in 1977. The army is known to control the nation’s foreign and security policies and political leaders have often blamed it for interfering in politics — including helping current Prime Minister Imran Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf party win the 2018 national elections. Both the army and Khan have denied the claims. The court delayed the judgment in November after premier Khan’s administration and the former military chief requested more time for arguments. An anti-terrorism court has already declared him an absconder and ordered the confiscation of his assets in the murder case of former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto. (SD-Agencies) | 