Though Pervez Musharraf has been a bitter rival and arch foe, former Pakistani Premier Nawaz Sharif has asked his younger brother and Prime Minister of Pakistan Shehbaz Sharif to facilitate the return of the ailing military dictator from Dubai.
“I have no personal enmity or animosity towards Pervez Musharraf. I don't want anyone else to suffer the traumas I have to endure for my loved ones. I pray to Allah Almighty for their health. If they want to come back, the government should provide facilities,” the three-time former premier Nawaz Sharif wrote on his Twitter post on Tuesday.
میری پرویز مشرف سے کوئی ذاتی دشمنی یا عناد نہیں۔ نہیں چاہتا کہ اپنے پیاروں کے بارے میں جو صدمے مجھے سہنا پڑے، وہ کسی اور کو بھی سہنا پڑیں۔ ان کی صحت کے لیے اللّہ تعالی سے دعاگو ہوں۔ وہ واپس آنا چاہیں تو حکومت سہولت فراہم کرے۔
— Nawaz Sharif (@NawazSharifMNS) June 14, 2022
Sharif’s warm-hearted gesture came after the Pakistani military establishment said that its top leadership wanted to bring its ailing former chief who has been living in Dubai since 2016, back to Pakistan in deference to his wish of spending his last days peacefully in Pakistan.
The former premier Nawaz Sharif had to live in exile in Saudi Arabia for a decade after Musharraf disposed him in 1999.
After the 1999 coup, Sharif was convicted of corruption and given a life sentence for hijacking, relating to his refusal to allow landing rights to an airliner carrying Musharraf.
It was Saudi Arabia who pressed for a deal in 2000 which allowed Sharif to go into exile in Saudi Arabia for 10 years. Sharif denied any agreement but said on Saturday he had believed his exile would be five years. Sharif did try to come back in September 2007 but after three hours of tense drama at the Islamabad airport, Musharraf sent him back to Saudi Arabia again.
But Nawaz Sharif now says that he has moved on and he does not want Musharraf’s family “to suffer the traumas I have to endure for my loved ones”.
According to media reports, the 78-year-old former dictator’s family had approached the Pakistani army chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa that Musharraf wanted to spend his last days in his “beloved” Pakistan. Gen. Bajwa granted permission immediately. Although the specific date of his return will be decided by the doctor, Pakistan's powerful military establishment made it clear that there should not be any kind of “harassment” for their former chief who has been facing legal charges including treason.
Musharraf is suffering from Amyloidosis which is the name for a group of rare, serious conditions caused by a build-up of an abnormal protein called amyloid in organs and tissues throughout the body. The build-up of amyloid proteins (deposits) can make it difficult for the organs and tissues to work properly.
The former dictator was indicted in 2014 for suspending the constitution of the country. The military establishment then “advised” him to leave Pakistan. Musharraf left Pakistan in 2016 for Dubai to seek medical treatment and since then he has been living there.
In 2019, he was awarded a death sentence which was “annulled” by the military establishment.
Also Read: Ailing former dictator Parvez Musharraf set to return home to Pakistan
