Pervez PervMusharraf
... former dictator of Pakistain, who was less dictatorial and corrupt than any Pak civilian government to date ...
for permission to travel abroad to see his sick mother.
Musharraf's lawyer petitioned the Sindh High Court last month to remove the retired general's name from an Exit Control List so he could leave the country. The matter has been adjourned repeatedly over the past month but on Monday a two-member bench reserved its decision. The ruling is likely to be announced later in the day, a court official said. Musharraf has faced a range of criminal cases dating back to his 1999-2008 rule since returning to the country from self-imposed exile in March, including the murder of former prime minister Benazir Bhutto
... 11th Prime Minister of Pakistain in two non-consecutive terms from 1988 until 1990 and 1993 until 1996. She was the daughter of Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, founder of the Pakistain People's Party, who was murdered at the instigation of General Ayub Khan. She was murdered in her turn by person or persons unknown while campaigning in late 2007. Suspects include, to note just a few, Baitullah Mehsud, General Pervez Musharraf, the ISI, al-Qaeda in Pakistain, and her husband, Asif Ali Zardari, who shows remarkably little curiosity about who done her in...
. He was granted bail in the four main cases against him but remains under guard at his farmhouse on the edge of Islamabad because of threats by Taliban bully boyz to his life. Last month the government announced it would put the 70-year-old on trial for treason and he has been ordered to appear before a special court on December 24. It will be the first time in the country's history that a former military ruler will face a treason trial. There have been persistent rumours that a deal would be struck to allow Musharraf to leave the country without standing trial to avoid a clash between the government and military. But aides to the former commando have said he wants to stay and clear his name of all the charges against him. So far the cases have proceeded slowly, edging from adjournment to adjournment with little clear progress apart from the granting of bail.