The priorities of our government seem, to put it very mildly, quite peculiar. While the three-decade old case of the hanging of Zulfikar Ali Bhutto is being vigourously pursued, after the president moved a review petition before the Supreme Court, not even a written application has been lodged seeking the extradition of former president Pervez Musharraf. Musharraf is being strongly implicated in the far more recent case of the murder of Benazir Bhutto, and visiting British Premier David Cameron has said that while no extradition treaty exists between the UK and Pakistan, as a first step a formal request seeking the return of the dictator needs to be put in so that the matter can be considered in London. This seems to be the logical way to proceed – provided that the government is serious about solving the case. The response by Information Minister Firdaus Ashiq Awan, that court orders are being awaited in the matter seems somewhat odd, given the gravity of the matter. A judicial ruling is hardly required to begin discussing the issue with London – but it seems that this was not taken up with Mr Cameron during the detailed discussions with him in Islamabad. Do our leaders really want to bring BB’s killers to justice, or are we being played games with? Are the intentions of those who hold power what they seem to be?
Certainly, the situation seems bizarre. Aged witnesses, who in some cases have confessed their recollection of events is now hazy, are being called before the court in the ZAB case, far less effort seems to be on to determine what events led to his daughter’s death. Is there a lot to hide? This seems to be the case. Even beyond the murder of Benazir, there are many who would like to see Musharraf returned to the country to answer various questions about his actions – including those pertaining to the judiciary. There would certainly appear to be no harm in beginning an effort to do so, and using the warmer ties now established with the British government as a means to move forward and put to an end to a tradition which allows de facto rulers to escape without having to answer for the wrongs they have committed or the harm they may have inflicted on their country and its various institutions.
Source : http://thenews.com.pk/TodaysPrintDetail.aspx?ID=40312&Cat=8
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