DG ISPR says Musharraf case’s detailed verdict has proven ‘fears true’

RAWALPINDI: DG ISPR Major General Asif Ghafoor  said on Thursday that the detailed verdict on former military ruler Gen (retd) Pervez Musharraf’s high treason case has proven the armed forces’ fears true.

The DG ISPR addressed an important press conference today, where he said that the words used in the verdict are beneath  any civil discourse.

“The fears that were expressed after the special court’s Dec 17 short judgment, those fears are being proven true,” DG ISPR Maj Gen Ghafoor said.

“Our enemies want to enrage us and want us to fight among ourselves,” said the DG ISPR, adding that it won’t be allowed to happen.

He said that  anarchy and discord will not be allowed to take place in the country.

“Pakistan Army is  not only an institution but a family,” said the army’s spokesman.

“Along with defending our borders, we also know how to defend the honour of our institution,” said the DG ISPR.

He further said that the army  remains strengthened only due to the support of the people. 

“We will not let this stability be reversed under any circumstances,” he said. “Pakistan Army will thwart any attempts of external as well as internal enemies.”

“A while ago, the army chief held a detailed discussion with Prime Minister Imran Khan,” said DG ISPR in relation to the verdict.

He said that the army and government are together trying to steer the country towards a conducive direction, free of threats.

He urged the nation to keep their trust on the armed forces. 

The press conference by Maj. Gen. Ghafoor came after the special court that sentenced General (r) Pervez Musharraf to death on Tuesday, issued its detailed verdict.

The detailed verdict stated that imposition of emergency on November 3, 2007 and the act of abrogating the constitution was not a one-man job. The verdict stated that Musharraf’s uniformed accomplices were “equally and fully involved”. 

“We, with the majority of 2 as to 1, allow the complaint and hold the accused guilty of high treason as defined at Article 6 of the Constitution and pass punishment under section 2 High Treason (Punishment) Act, 1973. Thus, the convict be hanged by his neck till he is dead,” the judgement issued today read.

Following the court’s short order in the case on Tuesday, the DG ISPR had said that the Pakistan Army was in “a lot of pain and anguish” over the sentencing to death of  Musharraf. 

Musharraf first took power after ousting prime minister Nawaz Sharif in a bloodless coup in 1999. His rule faced no serious challenges until he tried to sack then Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhary in March 2007, sparking nationwide protests and months of turmoil that led to the imposition of a state of emergency.

Musharraf finally resigned in August 2008 in the face of impeachment proceedings by the new governing coalition and went into exile.

He returned to Pakistan in 2013 in an attempt to contest elections, but was barred from taking part in the polls and from leaving the country as a barrage of legal cases mounted.

The treason case was first launched against Musharraf by his old foe Sharif in 2013.

The case went on for years amid repeated delays until Tuesday’s announcement of the verdict, the first time a former leader of the armed forces was convicted of treason and sentenced to death in Pakistan.

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