Karachi: The Pakistani nation is divided over the fate of former military ruler Pervez Musharraf over his arrest and facing trial, a recently held gallop survey shows.
Faced with a dilemma after rejection of his nomination papers for contesting elections, the retired general was weighing his options to stage his comeback but the rescinding of bail by the Supreme Court exposed him to arrest.
A local media group with the assistance of Gallop Pakistan held a survey between the period of March 30 till April 6 and questioned over 2,600 people for over a week to know their opinions about the former ruler, who is known for his tough gestures and dispositions.
To the question whether Musharraf should be arrested over his return home 43 per cent of the people who were surveyed, answered in yes while 40 per cent opposed the idea of Musharraf’s arrest showing a narrow gap between the two opinions. Remainder 17 per cent expressed no opinion saying they were not sure whether he should be arrested or not.
Likewise 35 per cent people said that they were not happy on his return to the country whereas 24 per cent opined they were happy to see him back home.
For Musharraf’s participating in Pakistani politics 54 per cent disliked the idea whereas 44 said that he should play his role in the politics. Two per cent refrained to answer the question.
Retired general Mushrraf before coming to Pakistan had deferred his arrival several times in the past and many believed that he would not come back as he was facing serious charges at home including treason and murder, both punishable with death sentence.
However, the former president reached Pakistan on March 24. Many people believed that he came back home after some of the friendly and influential countries guaranteed his secure and safe future in Pakistan. However, the Thursday court orders somewhat dispelled such impressions.
