Musharraf no longer untouchable, says UK media

scribed as a step forward for the democratic rule in Pakistan the indictment of former military ruler Pervez Musharraf in connection with the assassination of Benazir Bhutto, the former premier of Pakistanwhowas gunned down in Rawalpindi. The Guardian said that the indictment showed that the former strongman was “no longer untouchable” and that Musharraf’s return to end his exile and return to Pakistan was a miscalculation of the highest order as his support has almost completely evaporated and his supporters have deserted him. The paper, however, said that the indictment of Musharraf is a “sideshow” and fewanalysts believe there is hard evidence linkingMrMusharraf to Bhutto’s killing. The paper said: “Mr Musharraf already faces charges in four cases related to his period of rule. One way or another, it amounts to the same thing: putting a once untouchable general on trial. Pakistan’s powerful military did not support his return from exile in London but they would also not want to see one of their own dragged through the courts. Much has changed in his absence.” The paper said the appointment of a new army chief and chief justicewill play a role in determining the future of Musharraf. The paper, quoting Heraldo Muñoz, who led the UN probe into BB murder, described General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani as a “professional soldier of independent mind” who had “expressed doubts to himabout the claimby his former boss Mr Musharraf that Bhutto had been assassinated by the Pakistani Taliban”. “He also spoke fondly of Bhutto, saying she had grown as a politician. All this further muddies the waters about who was really behind her assassination. The author himself concludes that almost everyone played a part,” said the paper. The Independent said that the move to bring charges against a former army chief is unprecedented in a country ruled for more than half of its life by the military. “These charges are baseless. We are not afraid of the

proceedings. Wewill followlegal procedures in the court,” the paper quoted lawyer Syeda Afshan Adil as saying. “The indictment follows speculation about the possibility of a behind-the-scenes deal that could allow the former military chief to leave Pakistan without facing the courts and embarrassing themilitary.” Channel 4 said thatMusharraf returned to Pakistan to fight elections but “instead of triggering a hoped-for groundswell of popular support, Mr Musharraf became the first former army chief to be arrested in Pakistan when police took him into custody” and he was “instead disqualified and became the subject of several court cases relating to his 10-year rule”. The Telegraph said that “it is the first time such a senior military figure has been indicted”. The paper quoted one of Musharraf’s former advisers as saying: “It is a mystery to us why he ever returned.Maybe itwas arrogance, hubris, and he thought the country still loved him. Or maybe he was just homesick