Pakistan has oscillated between military rule and democracy throughout its sixty-six year history. Military strongmen have come amidst public apathy and gone unceremoniously after capitulating to public pressure, or abruptly, if you consider General Zia ul-Haq’s mysterious death. In every case, military rule ended on a note of disgrace.

" And now, the Islamabad High Court has cancelled his application for bail in the case relating to his showdown with the judiciary in 2007 and ordered his arrest "

But former president Pervez Musharraf hasn’t let infamy affect his resolve to pursue a political career. Despite his implication in a number of legal cases, including conspiracy to kill former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto, he took the risk of coming back to Pakistan to contest elections as the leader of the All Pakistan Muslim League (APML).

But he, just like a politician with no grass-roots support, grossly miscalculated his popularity in Pakistan.  And this comes as no surprise — even when he was the President of the country, he kept dismissing the strong democratic opposition that had been building against him for years.
Musharraf and his entourage of lackeys arrived in Pakistan last month, gripped with election fervour. But soon, their enthusiasm withered into a struggle for survival, as the man who ruled Pakistan for eight years got bombarded with one bad news after another. All four of his applications for contesting elections were rejected — something that had appeared inevitable to everyone else except members of the APML.

And now, the Islamabad High Court has cancelled his application for bail in the case relating to his showdown with the judiciary in 2007 and ordered his arrest. Yet in a show of bravado, typically reminiscent of his disregard of legal processes, Musharraf strode out of the court on hearing the verdict. Escorted by his personal security, he left for his farmhouse located on the outskirts of Islamabad. Subsequently, his lawyers are expected to enter an appeal for protective bail to the Supreme Court, but it is unlikely that the decision will be in Musharraf’s favour. He and his supporters desperately need to see the writing on the wall: the former strongman is officially finished as a politician

Courtesy:  Khaleej Times