LAHORE: If PML-N Senator Tariq Azeem is to be believed, the party has decided to pursue high treason case against retired General Pervez Musharraf after coming to power.

“The party will pursue the (treason) case against Gen Musharraf because he broke the law and should face the music,” Senator Azeem told Dawn. He rejected a perception that the PML-N would refrain from initiating proceedings against Gen Musharraf under Article 6 of the constitution.

“Nobody is above the law. A person who violated the constitution must be tried.”

Asked whether Nawaz Sharif, the PML-N president, had discussed the issue with leaders of his party, he said: “Nawaz Sharif has discussed the Musharraf issue with party members and he is very clear about his trial for violating the constitution.”

The caretaker government had told the Supreme Court last month that it could not initiate proceedings against Gen Musharraf under Article 6 because it had a “limited mandate”.

“The caretaker set-up should avoid taking any controversial step and should not commit any process that is not reversible by the incoming elected government,” it said in a statement before the court.

Facing a barrage of cases, the former president has been detained in his farmhouse at Chak Shehzad, which has been declared a sub-jail.

According to sources, the PML-N did not rush to form government after winning the May 11 elections for two reasons — introduction of a mini-budget in which some harsh tax measures had been proposed and to see how he caretakers dealt with the treason case.

Observers believe that it will be very difficult for the incoming PML-N government to decide whether to go for Gen Musharraf’s trial under Article 6 or not to do so.

Hinting at a behind the scene move, PML-Z President Ijazul Haq, who has decided to support the PML-N after winning a National Assembly seat, recently told reporters that Gen Musharraf “will leave the country before swearing in of the new government”.

According to sources, the quarters concerned have grilled Mr Haq over his statement and asked him about the source of information about the move.

The sources said certain quarters were active to find out an “amicable resolution” of the issue. Advocate Aslam Ghumman, who filed a petition relating to the judges’ detention, has already withdrawn his complaint against Gen Musharraf.