[The Taliban militants
have threatened to kill him upon his return. But in his characteristic bravado,
Mr. Musharraf has brushed aside the concerns for his life. He has survived
several assassination attempts by the Taliban and Al Qaeda. During his tenure,
Mr. Musharraf battled with Islamist extremists who have continued to gain
strength and challenge the state, especially in the country’s restive northwestern
regions. A litany of court cases await Mr. Musharraf and before returning, he
managed to arrange pre-arrest bail in three cases in which he faces criminal
charges: he deaths of former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto and a Baluch leader,
Nawab Akbar Bugti. He has denied the charges.]
By Salman Masood
ISLAMABAD —
Pakistan’s onetime military ruler, Gen. Pervez Musharraf, ended
four years of self-imposed exile on Sunday and returned to Pakistan, aiming to
carve out a political future, but he received an unremarkable welcome as he
landed at the airport in Karachi.
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Daniel Berehulak/Getty Images
Gen. Pervez Musharraf, the former Pakistani president, addressed
supporters in Karachi on Sunday upon his return from a self-imposed exile.
|
General Musharraf, who
resigned as president in August 2008 under threat of impeachment and left the
county in April 2009, arrived early Sunday afternoon on a flight from Dubai. A
small crowd had gathered at the airport and shouted slogans in his support.
Mr. Musharraf appeared
upbeat as he arrived in the southern city of Karachi.
“I respect your
emotions,” he said, waving to the crowd. “Thank you. Thank you,” he said as his
supporters shouted “Long live Musharraf!”
“I have returned. People
used to think that I would not return but I have come back,” Mr. Musharraf
said. “I am not scared of anyone but God.”
“I have put my life in
danger, but I want to save Pakistan,” he added.
Mr. Musharraf faces a
myriad challenges, both political and personal.
The Taliban militants
have threatened to kill him upon his return. But in his characteristic bravado,
Mr. Musharraf has brushed aside the concerns for his life. He has survived
several assassination attempts by the Taliban and Al Qaeda. During his tenure,
Mr. Musharraf battled with Islamist extremists who have continued to gain
strength and challenge the state, especially in the country’s restive northwestern
regions. A litany of court cases await Mr. Musharraf and before returning, he
managed to arrange pre-arrest bail in three cases in which he faces criminal
charges: he deaths of former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto and a Baluch leader,
Nawab Akbar Bugti. He has denied the charges.
News of Mr. Musharraf’s
return was nearly overshadowed by the announcement of a caretaker prime
minister on Sunday — a decision keenly awaited by political analysts.
Pakistan’s chief election commissioner announced that Mir Hazar Khan Khoso, a
retired justice, would serve as the caretaker prime minister and lead the
government until May 11, when general elections are scheduled.
Mr. Khoso, 84, has
served as a chief justice of Baluchistan province and his appointment was widely
welcomed by political circles.
“My first priority is to
hold fair, free and transparent elections,” Mr. Khoso said, speaking with
reporters in Islamabad.
Mr. Musharraf hopes that
his political party, All Pakistan Muslim League, will be able to offer a third
choice to voters, many of whom are disillusioned by the Pakistan Peoples Party,
led by President Asif Ali Zardari, and the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz, which
is led by former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif.
In addition, Imran Khan,
a cricket star turned politician, is already gaining some traction as an alternative
to the main parties, analysts say.
Mr. Khan held a rally in
the eastern city of Lahore on Saturday night, cheered on by a boisterous crowd
of hundreds of thousands of young men and women, who form his support base.
Political analysts said
dismissed any chance that Mr. Musharraf could succeed in reviving his political
fortunes.
“Musharraf will not be
able to make any significant political impact,” said Farooq Hameed Khan, a
retired brigadier and columnist for The News, an English daily.
The rule of General
Musharraf, who took power after a bloodless coup in 1999, began to unravel in
2007, when he tried to dismiss Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry, the country’s
crusading chief justice. A subsequent opposition movement led by the country’s
lawyers, and supported by opposition politicians, weakened Mr. Musharraf’s grip
on power and a political party, Pakistan Muslim League-Q, which was his
political support, lost badly in 2008 elections.
Mr. Musharraf hopes to
move beyond his past.
“Where is the Pakistan
that I had left years ago?”Mr. Musharraf said in his brief address to
supporters at Karachi airport. “My heart cries when I see the state of the
country.”
He said he planned to
take a countrywide tour to meet his supporters.
His party
officials had announced a plan for a rally later in the evening in
Karachi. But the provincial government ruled it out, citing security threats.
Mr. Musharraf intends to
move to Islamabad, the capital, where he maintains a lavish farmhouse, next
week, his aides said.