I AM not competent to speak on the legal aspect of the verdict against Pervez Musharraf. That function has been discharged by the Attorney General Anwar Mansoor Khan. However, as a historian I cannot hide my very grave concern for my country, which could plunge into crisis at a time when we should all have been focused on the humanitarian crisis in India-held Kashmir.

The President can issue a pardon to take the nation out the agony it has already slipped into. I have myself written against Pervez Musharraf in these columns, but a death sentence is an altogether different matter, not easy, for the defendant, but for the country to endure.

When article 6 was written into the constitution it was claimed that martial law had been buried. That claim proved false because historical developments are driven by larger forces. The execution of Zulfikar Ali Bhutto was deplorable, as I have never tired of protesting, for it has divided the country. Capital punishment is irremediable. At this time the case of the PIA flight not allowed to land is not being raised, but in future it shall be the most invoked aspect of the case.

This is not an appeal to save the life of an individual; it is an appeal to save the nation from an unnecessary crisis.

Dr Muhammad Reza Kazimi
Karachi

Published in Dawn, December 19th, 2019