Senators see no wisdom in blocking Musharraf's return.

ISLAMABAD -- The controversy over former army chief Pervez Musharraf's homecoming echoed in the upper house of parliament on Wednesday, with senators from both sides of the aisle debating if he should be allowed to return to the country and spend his remaining life here.

The discussion took place a day after PML-N supremo Nawaz Sharif urged the government, led by his younger brother Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, to facilitate Mr Musharraf's return in light of his poor health. The head of the military's media wing also said on Tuesday Mr Musharraf's family was in contact with the army regarding his planned return to Pakistan.

During the Senate session, the most open and frank comments came from former prime minister Syed Yousaf Raza Gilani, who conceded that decisions like allowing or preventing Mr Musharraf from returning 'will not be taken by us. They will be taken somewhere else'.

'When [Mr Musharraf] went abroad, could you stop him? And can you stop him now when he returns?' Mr Gilani asked.

PPP's Gilani says no one can stop ex-general since 'such decisions are taken elsewhere', Rabbani sees no issue

'It's a futile exercise. If Pervez Musharraf wants to come back, he can. Pakistan is his home,' he said, adding that he had no issues with the former dictator's return but stressed that everyone should be treated equally.

Jamaat-i-Islami (JI) Senator Mushtaq Ahmad Khan recalled that the Constitution had been victim to several injustices. 'We are handicapped. Our hands and feet have been tied. We are just slaves.'

He said Mr Musharraf enjoyed absolute power for 10 years, during which he broke the Constitution twice, attacked the judiciary and a former chief justice of Pakistan was even dragged by his hair.

'The decision of the Peshawar High Court is in front of you,' the JI senator said, referring to the death sentence awarded to Mr Musharraf on high treason charges.

He asserted that if Musharraf was brought back to the country, the doors of the prisons should also be opened and courts should be closed because the judiciary 'won't be needed'.

PPP Senator Raza Rabbani agreed that Mr Musharraf had committed several atrocities, but said there was no problem if he wanted to return to the country on health grounds.

He, however, pointed out that he could not talk on behalf of his party. 'Things are very different when a person has been convicted by a court under Article 6 of the Constitution (high treason). It would be very inappropriate to give...

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