Former President Pervez Musharraf returned home Sunday hoping to make a political comeback despite Taliban death threats and looming arrest warrants. But judging by the lackluster crowd at the airport to greet him, his biggest challenge could be his waning popularity.
His return comes as Pakistan is poised to transition from one democratically elected government to another — a first for a country that has experienced three coups since its 1947 inception. After years on the margins of Pakistani politics, Musharraf is seeking to rebuild his image, hoping to capitalize on an electorate frustrated with five years of rising inflation, rolling blackouts and security problems.
Musharraf, a four-star general who was chief of the army, took power in a 1999 coup and his military-led regime steered the country for nearly a decade until he was forced to step down in 2008 as president. Confronted with mounting criticism and widespread protests after he tried to dismiss a popular chief justice, he left facing impeachment by the newly elected parliament.
He later left the country and has been living between London and Dubai ever since.
The former Pakistani strongman had promised to return to his homeland many times before. He finally followed through, boarding a plane in Dubai with supporters and journalists and flying to the southern port metropolis of Karachi, the largest city in the nation.
Stepping out of the terminal, surrounded by police and supporters, he portrayed himself as a savior seeking to return the country to the prosperity and stability that supporters say marked his presidency.
“I have come back for you. I want you to get back the Pakistan that I had left when we used to feel proud in ourselves,” he said.
Musharraf represents a polarizing force that could further complicate Pakistan’s attempt to hold parliamentary elections on May 11.
Musharraf’s supporters, including elements of the military and members of Pakistan’s influential expatriate communities, consider him a strong leader whose voice could help stabilize the country.
But Musharraf’s welcoming party, estimated at between 1,000 and 2000, was small compared with the hundreds of thousands of people who thronged this same terminal when Benazir Bhutto returned to Pakistan or the tens of thousands who turned out Saturday night for a rally in Lahore for cricketer-turned-politician Imran Khan.
“If he claims nationwide support, that would be a joke,” said Rasul Bakhsh Rais, from the Lahore University of Management Sciences. “I have never seen such a misplaced optimism about oneself.”
Musharraf was whisked out of the airport inside an armored vehicle, surrounded by a phalanx of police and paramilitary security forces. It was a reminder of the security threats Musharraf faces.
The former general angered many militants with his decision in the wake of the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks to back the U.S. in its invasion of Afghanistan and cut off ties with the Taliban.
Militants were further infuriated with Musharraf when he decided in 2007 to raid a mosque in Islamabad that become a center for militants opposed to the U.S.
The Pakistan Taliban vowed to kill him in a video released on Saturday. One of the featured speakers in the video — former Pakistan Air Force officer Adnan Rashid — was convicted of helping plot an assassination attempt against Musharraf in 2003 when a suicide bomber tried to ram his vehicle. Rashid was imprisoned, but he escaped during a jail break orchestrated by the Taliban.
In the video, he said Musharraf should surrender himself to the Taliban or prepare to be hit again.
“The mujahedeen of Islam have prepared a death squad to send Pervez Musharraf to hell,” Rashid warned.
About the Author
