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Musharraf says army backs him; treason claims a govt 'vendetta'
Supporters of slain Pakistani leader Benazir Bhutto rallying in Lahore on her death anniversary last Friday. The criminal cases that former ruler Pervez Musharraf faces include murder charges over her assassination.
ISLAMABAD- Pakistan's former military ruler Pervez Musharraf has denounced treason charges against him as a "vendetta", and said he had the backing of the country's powerful army. The 70-year-old told reporters the "whole army" was upset with the treason allegations, in his first comments to the international media since he was put under house arrest in April.
The treason claims are the latest and potentially most serious in a flurry of criminal cases he has faced since returning to Pakistan in March.
The case puts the government on a possible collision course with the army, which is seen as being reluctant to witness its former chief suffer the indignity of being tried by a civilian court.
"I would say the whole army is upset. I have led the army from the front," Musharraf told reporters yesterday. "I have no doubt with the feedback that I have received that the whole army is... totally with me on this issue."
The military, which has ruled Pakistan for more than half of its 66-year history and wields great influence, has not made any clear public comment on the case.
The treason charges relate to Musharraf's imposition of emergency rule in November 2007 and, if found guilty, he could face the death penalty or life imprisonment. The case hearing by a special tribunal will resume on Wednesday but Musharraf said he had not yet decided whether or not he would attend.
"The way this tribunal was formed, which involved the prime minister and the ex-chief justice, this itself smacks a little bit of a vendetta," he said.
His lawyers have dismissed the charges as an attempt by the government of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, whom Musharraf ousted in a coup in 1999, to settle old scores through the courts.
Musharraf returned to Pakistan to run in May's general election - won by Mr Sharif - but his homecoming proved disastrous.
He was barred from running for office almost immediately and then hit with a series of serious criminal allegations dating back to his time in power, which ended in 2008.
These include murder charges over the assassination in late 2007 of former prime minister Benazir Bhutto, as well as the death of a rebel leader, a deadly military raid on a radical mosque and the detention of judges.
To add to his humiliation, he was placed under house arrest in April. He has now been granted bail but threats to his life mean he lives under heavy guard in his house on the edge of Islamabad.
AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
Supporters of slain Pakistani leader Benazir Bhutto rallying in Lahore on her death anniversary last Friday. The criminal cases that former ruler Pervez Musharraf faces include murder charges over her assassination.
ISLAMABAD- Pakistan's former military ruler Pervez Musharraf has denounced treason charges against him as a "vendetta", and said he had the backing of the country's powerful army. The 70-year-old told reporters the "whole army" was upset with the treason allegations, in his first comments to the international media since he was put under house arrest in April.
The treason claims are the latest and potentially most serious in a flurry of criminal cases he has faced since returning to Pakistan in March.
The case puts the government on a possible collision course with the army, which is seen as being reluctant to witness its former chief suffer the indignity of being tried by a civilian court.
"I would say the whole army is upset. I have led the army from the front," Musharraf told reporters yesterday. "I have no doubt with the feedback that I have received that the whole army is... totally with me on this issue."
The military, which has ruled Pakistan for more than half of its 66-year history and wields great influence, has not made any clear public comment on the case.
The treason charges relate to Musharraf's imposition of emergency rule in November 2007 and, if found guilty, he could face the death penalty or life imprisonment. The case hearing by a special tribunal will resume on Wednesday but Musharraf said he had not yet decided whether or not he would attend.
"The way this tribunal was formed, which involved the prime minister and the ex-chief justice, this itself smacks a little bit of a vendetta," he said.
His lawyers have dismissed the charges as an attempt by the government of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, whom Musharraf ousted in a coup in 1999, to settle old scores through the courts.
Musharraf returned to Pakistan to run in May's general election - won by Mr Sharif - but his homecoming proved disastrous.
He was barred from running for office almost immediately and then hit with a series of serious criminal allegations dating back to his time in power, which ended in 2008.
These include murder charges over the assassination in late 2007 of former prime minister Benazir Bhutto, as well as the death of a rebel leader, a deadly military raid on a radical mosque and the detention of judges.
To add to his humiliation, he was placed under house arrest in April. He has now been granted bail but threats to his life mean he lives under heavy guard in his house on the edge of Islamabad.
AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
