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Chronicles of October 1999 Military Coup - Part I
Part I | Sorting the Bastard out
By Engr. Hadeed A Sher
* Based on published interviews, books and news reports.
* Based on published interviews, books and news reports.
After the June 24, 2013 speech of PM Mian Nawaz Sharif in National Assembly, very few were expecting that practical steps will be taken for the trail of former military dictator Gen Musharraf. Government against all the odds, opted for the proper procedure of trying Musharraf under article 6 of the constitution of Pakistan. After doing their home work the interior ministry wrote a formal letter to the Ministry of Law and Justice to formulate a special court for conducting the treason case. The Ministry of Law and Justice after going through the due procedures constituted a three member bench under the captaincy of Justice Faisal Arab. The establishment of a special court stunned those who were calling the June 24 speech a political gimmickry. A lot has been said since the establishment of the court, mostly from those who never peeped inside the historical perspectives. Author of this blog spent a lot of time investigating the circumstances of the military coup of '99 and would like to register the facts in this digital world. This first part of this blog will point out the pre-October 12 '99 situation and what exactly was the ground situation of politics then.
Prior to October 12, the most flabbergasting issue floating on the political surface of Pakistan was the Kargil fiasco. A lot has been written on the Kargil fiasco and despite the fact that during the Kargil misadventure it was Mian Nawaz Sharif who was held responsible for the "defeat" of Pak army. Later on, after few years, when the dust settled it was revealed that Gen Musharraf and his triumvirate was responsible for the deaths of thousand of Pakistani soldiers across the LoC. The inane operation in the mountains of Kargil however, created a lot of misunderstanding between the bloody civilian government and the pious military clan.
Waiting for 2 more days, Mian Nawaz Sharif finally dismissed the CoAS following the constitutional formalities, although he could had waited for his return to Pakistan. What happened on October 12, 1999 will be discussed in the next part.
Swerving the trial of Musharraf
Swerving the trial of Musharraf
It was 1999 when based on the rhetoric of the plane hijacking case, the constitutional government of Pakistan was crushed under the heavy boots of the army upon the orders of dismissed general Musharraf. On that very awful night the DEAR COUNTRYMEN were advised to stay calm and to support the armed forces in reinstating the law and peace in the country. Later on following the natural jungle law of might is right, the elected Prime Minister was sent to an unknown place along with his family members and close aides. The military coup by Gen. Musharraf was warmly welcomed by all the opposition parties. Although, this gracious welcome can not be considered as the right of way for the General, yet the clangor of this act still accompanies the majority of then opposition parties. Soon after the coup in order to gain “moral” grounds Gen Musharraf met the majority of the leaders of opposition parties, some of which are now a days frenzied after the military coup in Egypt.
This onslaught on the constitution of Pakistan was then given constitutional indemnity through a well fabricated and engineered National Assembly. But the question was, how long people can live in a suffocated environment, after all Gen Musharraf was not a clout. He was a military dictator whose presence as sitting army chief as well as the president of Pakistan was a sheer embarrassment to this nation. During the time he was ruling Pakistan, the nation first heard of the Missing Persons . It was later revealed that the missing persons are detained in the custody of security forces without following the due legal procedures. After the petitions of the missing persons as well as the judicial activism in the other areas, it was evident that the choleric General will not temper it for a long time. And then he decided to impose emergency plus in the country. On his orders the CJP was house arrested with 60 other judges of the higher judiciary. After all what else is more COMESTIBLE than the constitution of Pakistan.
This violent attack on the judiciary was so shocking that it acted as a cistern of anti Mushraf movement. The democratic forces of the country put hands in hands with the bar associations and councils of the country and a massive movement was erupted on the streets across the country. The pressure within the army ranks forced Gen Mushraff to hand over the commanding stick to Gen Ashfaq Parvaiz Kiani. It was clearly seen that Gen. Musharraf cannot bear the pressure anymore and will step down as the President. On May 12, 2007 amidst movement to restore the judiciary, riots erupted in the financial capital of Pakistan, Karachi. During those riots dozens of vehicles were burnt, hundred of people were wounded, killed and arrested most of them were political workers of opposition parties. The same night the self conceited person sitting in the presidency called it a SHOW OF PEOPLE’s POWER. Later on during the election campaign the chairperson of Pakistan People’s Party was killed in a bomb blast in Rawalpindi. After the elections 2008, Gen Mushrraf resigned and left the country.
During his stay in London, he formed a new political party and named it All Pakistan Muslim League and announced that he will return to Pakistan before general elections. However, he was nominated in several high profile cases including the gruesome assassination of Former Governor and CM Balauchistan Nawab Akbar Bughti. He was disqualified for the elections and later on house arrested for legal cases filed against him.
On 24th of June 2013, the newly elected Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif announced in the National Assembly that Musharraf will be tried under article 6 of the constitution of Pakistan for violating and abrogating the constitution twice. This policy statement was widely hailed by the democratic forces present inside and outside the National Assembly.
The point that Pakistan as a country has been under military rule for most of its life and that military dictators were never punished nor they felt any regret for the coercion of the “bloody” civilians is indeed shocking. These military rulers as well as their institution never commiserate on imposing martial law , in fact they always defended their occupied rule in Pakistan and portrayed it as a fascinating lifetime for Pakistanis. The order of first governor general of Pakistan to invade the forces in Junagarh and Hyderabad Deccan was disobeyed. We lost Kashmir, we sold our rivers to the Indians, we faced a humiliating defeat in the East Pakistan. The fiasco of operation Nusrat, Gibraltar and then the operation grand slam were enough to show their incompetency within their own field. The skilled army generals who consider themselves as the best administrators and the best to safeguard the interests of the country also portrayed their levity during the misadventure of Kargil war. This is the time that those who want to destabilize the democratic process of Pakistan must be tried for high treason. We as a nation should welcome this decision of trying former military ruler Musharraf under article 6 as this will certainly be the end of the compunction of Pakistani nation as a non democratic force.
Written by (Hadeed Sher)