AnalysisIn Pakistan, Musharraf treason verdict could hurt Imran Khan – and China won’t mind
- Finding the former army dictator guilty of treason is another sign of the Supreme Court’s willingness to challenge military impunity
- Khan’s government has slowed down major projects under the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, and has courted the Trump administration
The legal rationale for the verdict was never in question. As charged, Musharraf had in November 2007 suspended the constitution to prevent the judiciary from blocking a law which embodied a political deal with exiled opposition leaders. In doing so, Musharraf became liable to treason charges under an article of the constitution.
But nobody in Pakistan ever expected the charge to culminate in a guilty verdict. The three other generals who previously staged coups – Ayub Khan, Yahya Khan and Zia-ul-Haq – were never even charged. Along with Musharraf, they directly ruled Pakistan for about half of its 72-year existence, establishing the military as the unquestionably dominant force in the national power structure.
Despite Pakistan’s transition to democracy in 2008, the military’s power has steadily grown since Musharraf stepped down. It has become more and more public in its assertiveness, browbeating successive elected governments into submission.
Since Prime Minister Imran Khan came to power in controversial circumstances in August 2018, the military’s grip has tightened further. Freedom of speech has been sharply curtailed, drawing comparisons with the oppression prevalent during General Zia-ul-Haq’s rule from 1977 until his assassination in 1988.