Chief of the Army Staff General Musharraf defeated Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif’s government on October 12, 99
News Time
Former Secretary of Defense (R) Iftikhar, former President General (retd) Pervez Musharraf and General Ziauddin Butt were going to the Ministry of Defense to issue notification of the appointment of Army Chief. Calling them not to go there, the army has arrived. You should visit General Aziz. When he arrived, he was told that you should sit here until the process of rule is complete, namely the termination of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and his government. The revelations were made by an eyewitness who was close to Nawaz Sharif. In fact, neither Musharraf legally fired nor Ziauddin became chief. Shortly afterwards, General Iftikhar received a call from the house saying that the army was surrounded. They complained that if the answer was not upset they would go back. They were then allowed to go home. One thing that the eyewitness of all these incidents said on the condition of anonymity is that Mian took the summary himself and went to the President. On which was written “President May See” and in reply the President wrote “I have seen”.The witness said that Mian Sahib Shahbaz is in the same room and you should consult him too. The answer has now been decided. However, he rejected the impression that the immediate reason for Musharraf’s ouster was that of Quetta Corps commander General Tariq Pervez. I do not think this is correct because his retirement decision was decided in the opinion meeting of Shahbaz Sharif and General Musharraf. Although General Sahib went there for condolences, but during the discussion, Shahbaz Sahib requested the General to talk to Tariq.
Mian asked what happened. Sir, I want Tariq to retire. Some of his activities are harmful to the organization. Answer I don’t mind, you send me the summary. It was decided on October 9 that General Tariq would retire on October 13. On the same day, a news meeting with his prime minister went into hiding, despite the fact that the meeting was not. However, the Prime Minister received a request for a meeting. The Prime Minister expressed his displeasure over the news and directed the ISPR to issue an immediate refusal. On October 12, he had his first meeting with former Federal Minister and General Tariq’s brother, Nadir Pervez. Nadir requested the Prime Minister that Tariq is retiring tomorrow. If you can, meet him today. You have a request. Before General Musharraf, who was in Sri Lanka that day, requested the Prime Minister that he would like to take his wife as well. Why not?
On the other hand, a close ally of General Musharraf, who was then in the army, had taken some of his close associates, including General Mahmood, General Aziz, General Khalid Maqbool and probably General Usmani, before going to Colombo. What should they do if there is a declaration from the Prime Minister? Former ISI chief Ziauddin, on the other hand, did not realize that the army was standing with Musharraf. At least that’s what happened that day. When the announcement was made on PTV, and Chaudhry Nisar were surprised that Mian Sahib did this and that without any consultation. When Mian Sahib found out that the top leadership of the army had refused to accept the decision, he told Ziauddin, “Where is your command and authority?” His government had already ended Musharraf’s landing in Karachi. General Musharraf was appointed on the recommendation of Shahbaz and Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan, who gave positive reports to Mian Sahib after meeting in Murree. That it is better and weaker than General Ali Quli Khan. It turned out to be the same mistake Bhutto made on the appointment of General Ziaul Haq, but only a few months after the appointment, Mian Sahib realized that this was not the case. When Kargil happened, Mian Sahib got a call from Indian Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee. Mian Sahib, who was then in Karachi, called General Musharraf and asked what, had happened in Kargil. Musharraf said that if you come to Islamabad, I will submit a complete report. Two days later, in Rawalpindi, the Army Chief gave a full briefing to the Prime Minister along with his team. Mian was happy and prayed, but while leaving, Musharraf was told that I should have taken it in confidence.
On arriving in Karachi on October 12, 99, General Musharraf took a briefing from his team which he had been alerted to earlier. Now the decision was to make a martial law or something else. When it was time for a speech at night, PTV officer Athar Waqar Azim asked him, Sir, the national anthem is only before the speech of the President or the Prime Minister and you are not even the Chief Martial Law Administrator. He did not insist and the first speech was without a national anthem. The next day, he called on Mr. Sharifuddin Pirzada and consulted on what should be done. He said that if we bring martial, the reaction from the world will come. Now you take the position of chief executive and then approach the court. It’s been 20 years. Mian was in jail yesterday and still today. Musharraf was out yesterday and still today. That’s the only difference between democracy and dictatorship.
