FORMER president Pervez Musharraf ruled the country for nine long years with the explicit support of many generals, judges and politicians who are now the champions of democracy and rule of law.

Some of his cabinet members are now contesting elections under PML-N flag. His actions against judges were unjust and illegal as I believe but another group of judges was readily available to support his rule, generally known as Dogar court.

He left the presidency after installing the elected government and received a guard of honour. The elected government proved his rule comparatively better. The elected government did not prosecute him for high treason as per Constitution for eight months before he left the country in self-exile, and even the caretaker government has now expressed its inability to do so.

His beneficiaries, including those who voted for him to amend the Constitution and also voted for him twice to presidency while in uniform, have left him except a few with moral courage to stand by him in adversity. Holding one man responsible for all the sins of nine years and condoning his accomplices will be considered unfair and against the natural justice by many.

M. AKRAM NIAZI Rawalpindi Cantt

Some questions GEN Pervez Musharraf had made a wise decision by resigning. It did immense good to him and the country, saving it from a great turmoil. Had he tried to take any measures to subdue public demand, it would have done a lot of damage. But coming back was a wrong decision.

He attacked Kargil, crossing the Line of Control when elections were soon to be held in India and Vajpayee’s party, BJP, was certainly to lose. In those circumstances, even a layman could comprehend India’s retaliatory response. Vajpayee, taking it as a victory gift in a silver plate, ordered his army to retaliate with full might. It was only the statement from Bill Clinton that enabled Nawaz Sharif to order a retreat with some respect, saving a large number of lives of our troops and the country was saved from a humiliating defeat.

Musharraf later took over when Nawaz Sharif ordered his dismissal in a very wrong, rather foolish way. He came out with a statement about the construction of controversial Kalabagh Dam which has been a bone of contention between all the provinces. Like all ambitious military rulers, he was fearful of people’s power.

And, finally, on whose advice did he order a bloody raid on Lal Masjid? The two brothers – Maulana Abdul Aziz and Ghazi Abdul Rasheed – were hell bent on implementing Sharia in the country. They had also indoctrinated students of the Jamia Hafsa. All the ulema of the country tried their utmost to convince the two brothers.

But despite all this, were those brothers creating hindrances and disrupting daily lives of the people in Islamabad for which he ordered such a bloody military operation?

Musharraf had several options to resolve that issue. He could have ordered a cordon-off of the surrounding area. Anyone coming out to acquire food or daily-use items could have been arrested. Lack of food would have forced them to surrender.

Through a commando action, the two brothers could have been captured. The parents of the children inside the seminary should have been informed of the situation, reminding them that they had sent their sons/daughters to learn the Holy Quran and Islamic teachings, while the two brothers had been preparing the children for a battle against the government.

They should have been asked to immediately withdraw their wards to save them from any casualty due to military action the government was intending to take for taking the law in their hands.

What Musharraf is facing today is not due to the dismissal of the chief justice on the advice of the then prime minister Shaukat Aziz.

MUHAMMAD RAFI Karachi