Pervez PervMusharraf
... former dictator of Pakistain, who was less dictatorial and corrupt than any Pak civilian government to date ...
, the country's former military ruler, clearing the way for him to leave the country as early as Thursday, his lawyers said.
Mr. Musharraf, 70, has been under house arrest at his villa outside Islamabad since April, facing criminal charges in three cases related to his nine years in power, from 1999 to 2008. The prospect of a former army chief facing potential imprisonment appeared, for a time, to signal new limits to the unofficial immunity from prosecution that Pakistain's top generals have long enjoyed.
Mr. Musharraf had already been granted bail in two of the three cases, and the decision on Wednesday to grant bail in the third -- related to the death of Akbar Khan Bugti, a Baloch nationalist leader killed in a military operation -- opens the door for him to avoid prosecution entirely.
Mr. Musharraf's lawyers said that his bail payment of $20,000 could be processed as early as Thursday morning; he could then leave Pakistain immediately. Ahmad Raza Khan Qasuri, the vice president of Mr. Musharraf's political party, the All Pakistain Mohammedan League, said that Mr. Musharraf might go to see his 90-year-old mother.
"He's a free person -- he can go out whenever he likes," Mr. Qasuri said in a telephone interview. "His mother, who is a very aged lady, lives in Dubai. He might go tomorrow or the day after to see her. But his base will continue to be in Islamabad."
Still, Mr. Musharraf has rebuffed previous entreaties from his advisers, and from senior military leaders, to leave Pakistain, particularly if doing so would prevent him from returning to fight his battles in court. Aides say that Mr. Musharraf, a former commando with a famous stubborn streak, insists on clearing his name and does not want to spend his retirement in exile.
But for the military, his case has become an unwelcome distraction, complicating relations among the army, the civilian government and the courts and raising the prospect of a troubling precedent.
Mohammed Amjad, secretary general of Mr. Musharraf's party, told news hounds outside his home that if Mr. Musharraf leaves Pakistain, it will be only temporarily. "He will not escape from Pakistain," Mr. Amjad said.
Mr. Musharraf has been incarcerated
Youse'll never take me alive coppers!... [BANG!]... Ow!... I quit!
at his luxurious farmhouse outside Islamabad rather than in prison for security reasons, following Taliban threats to his life. Aides say he has been confined to two rooms in the house, which has a swimming pool and sweeping lawns, and has had limited access to his friends and family.
Still, in a country where senior military officers are generally considered to be above the law, the sight of a former military ruler facing justice in a civilian court is a startling novelty.
Besides the three current criminal cases, Mr. Musharraf faces potential treason charges for his role in suspending the constitution in 2007, though few analysts believe the government of
Nawaz Sharif... served two non-consecutive terms as prime minister, heads the Pakistain Moslem League (Nawaz). Noted for his spectacular corruption, the 1998 Pak nuclear test, border war with India, and for being tossed by General Musharraf...
is likely to go ahead with those charges.
Mr. Musharraf was disqualified from standing in the general election in May, in which his party performed poorly. More generally, few Paks have shown much enthusiasm for returning him to power.
One factor in Mr. Musharraf's present calculation might be the position of his nemesis, Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry, whom he tried to fire in 2007. With Mr. Chaudhry due to retire in December, analysts say that Mr. Musharraf might be waiting until then to decide whether his long-term future lies in or out of Pakistain.