Musharraf will be arrested on return, Senate told
19 January, 2012
ISLAMABAD: Interior Minister Rehman Malik on Wednesday informed the Upper House that former president Pervez Musharraf would be arrested upon his return to Pakistan in the Bugti murder case. The minister said the former president was also a proclaimed offender in the Benazir Bhutto murder case, and that the government was in contact with British authorities for his extradition. He told senators that the government would take action against the former general in accordance with the law. However, he told the House that a complainant was needed to make the federal government register a case against Musharraf under Article 6. The interior minister asked the PML-N to come forward as it was affected the most by the October 12, 1999, coup. He urged the party to lodge a complaint with the federal government so as to proceed further in this regard. He also asked the judges of the Supreme Court and high courts to be complainant in the case, as they too were kept under house arrest during the emergency imposed by the former army chief. He also asked Chief Justice of Pakistan Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry to take suo motu notice in this regard. Senators Zahid Khan and Abdur Rahim Mandokhel said the generals and politicians who supported Musharraf in the coup should also be tried under Article 6. Salim Saifullah Khan said those liable to be tried for abetting Musharraf were sitting in the cabinet. Senator Nilofar Bakhtiar said those who saw off ex-president Musharraf with a guard of honour were now talking of his trial under Article 6. She also declared NRO a deal. On this, the interior minister said that the slain PPP leader Benazir Bhutto had rejected the NRO. He said many cases were pending under the NRO but only those cases were reopened which involved only the PPP leaders. Earlier, PPP Senator Raza Rabbani rose on a point of order and referred to a letter written by one of Musharraf's confidants to US authorities seeking assurances from them on 'safe arrival' of the former military dictator in Pakistan and other favours, asked the interior minister to assure the House that he would be arrested immediately after he landed in the country. Other senators including Maulana Abdul Ghafoor Haideri, Syed Zafar Ali Shah, Professor Khurshid Ahmad and Zahid Khan also endorsed Rabbani and sought registration of a case against Musharraf under Article 6 of the constitution. Separately, Jamaat-e-Islami Senator Professor Khurshid presented a privilege motion in the Upper House, saying that the government had failed to present reports of the Council of Common Interests (CCI) and National Economic Council (NEC) in Senate, which he said was mandatory after the 18th Amendment. He said the government had breached the privilege of Senate by not presenting the reports. Leader of the House Nayyar Hussain Bukhari said the government was in the process of making rules regarding the said reports. According to the rules, he said, the CCI had to present the reports in the Upper House, not the government. Supporting the motion of Prof Khurshid, PML-N leader Ishaq Dar asked what the government had been doing for the last several months, as it was unable to make rules after passing the 18th Amendment. He suggested completing the rules quickly and presenting the reports in the House as soon as possible. Later, it was decided that the matter would be discussed in the House and it could not be referred to the standing committee. End.
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