Former premier Nawaz Sharif on Friday lamented the state of affairs ahead of Pakistan’s general elections, telling reporters that while former dictator Pervez Musharraf was enjoying virtual immunity despite violating the Constitution, he had been barred from visiting his ailing wife in London.
Talking about the recent Supreme Court order allowing Musharraf to conditionally file nomination papers for the elections scheduled for July 25, Sharif listed all cases in which the former military ruler is an accused.
"Placing judges under house arrest, violating the Constitution, Akbar Bugti’s murder. He is named an accused in all, yet he is promised on-arrival leniency. I, on the other hand, cannot even obtain five-day permission to visit my wife," Sharif said.
Sharif said he had been booked for treason while the one who committed treason had been granted conditional permission to contest elections. “Under what law has he been allowed to contest elections? I want to see such laws too,” a livid Sharif said.
The PML-N leader said it was beyond one’s comprehension how Musharraf got to enjoy such preferential treatment: “Illegal. How can one individual be above the law and Constitution?”
{{/usCountry}}The PML-N leader said it was beyond one’s comprehension how Musharraf got to enjoy such preferential treatment: “Illegal. How can one individual be above the law and Constitution?”
{{/usCountry}}Musharraf is currently in self-exile in Dubai. He left Pakistan after a raft of criminal and civil cases were filed against him.
The Supreme Court on Thursday summoned Musharraf on June 13 in response to a petition challenging the Peshawar high court‘s ruling barring him from contesting elections for the rest of his life for promulgating Emergency in November 2007.
The court also assured Musharraf’s counsel that he would not be arrested when he returned to Pakistan. It also allowed returning officers to receive his nomination papers "subject to the case’s outcome".