Pakistan’s Twitter space flourished with messages of solidarity with the Pakistan Army following the Supreme Court’s verdict in the former General Pervez Musharraf’s high treason case. Extreme love and support flourished on Twitter under trends like ‘We Stand With Pak Army’.
The expression of love was exuded after Supreme Court had awarded former president Pervez Musharraf death penalty and labeled him a traitor in a short verdict released on December 17th for suspending the constitution of Pakistan and the imposition of emergency on November 3rd, 2007.
Social media, inflated with angst against the death penalty unleashed a blistering criticism on the country’s apex court
Following the news, DG ISPR had released the press release that dismissed the allegations of treason on former army chief Pervez Musharraf and rejected the verdict of the death penalty for him.
General Musharraf suspended the constitution of Pakistan in 2007. He came to power in 1999 after a military coup and remained the president of Pakistan from 2001 to 2008. Supreme Court deemed his actions equivalent to high treason and charged him with the death sentence under Article 6.
Read more: Musharraf Hero of Pakistan: Top trend on social media
This is, however, the first instance of a military ruler convicted with high treason in Pakistan- a country laden with a history of military rule. Social media, inflated with angst against the death penalty unleashed a blistering criticism on the country’s apex court. A mammoth of Twitter users decried the declared the judgment ‘unfair and unjust’.
https://twitter.com/AfridiDua/status/1207660173608804352?s=20
We Stand with Pak Army
Shame on justice Waqar pic.twitter.com/GZzy2TioRu
— Markhoor lite (@MarkhoorliteRJP) December 19, 2019
We are together with pak army
We support army and we love with our beloved army .
I stand with army pic.twitter.com/nldx8vV1dw— Hassan ali official (@Hassana70849812) December 20, 2019
Social media argued that an army official, who served the country for 40 years and fought wars, cannot be labeled a traitor. Colossal messages outpoured, expressing solidarity with and calling Pervez Musharraf a ‘hero’. Others affirmed that Pervez Musharraf committed mistakes but that does not amount to be called a ‘traitor’.
https://twitter.com/Haamid999/status/1206937801226371072?s=20
https://twitter.com/Dr_Roma_1/status/1207040849550467072?s=20
As if the earlier judgment of the death penalty for General Pervaiz Musharraf was not enough, the 167 pages detailed judgment written by Peshawar High Court Chief Justice Waqar Ahmad Seth, released on General Pervez Musharraf’s treason stoked another controversy with the use of repugnant comments against the former president.
Clause 66 – the para which has fueled stringent condemnation of the judgment by friends and foes said, “We direct the law enforcement agencies to strive their level best to apprehend the fugitive/convict and to ensure that the punishment is inflicted as per law and if found dead, his corpse be dragged to the D-Chowk, Islamabad, Pakistan and be hanged for 03 days.”
we stand with pak Army
My country's Army are not Alone but crors of Pakistani are with Army pic.twitter.com/UnbZBvT7ZF— Azam Raza Azmi (@AzamRazaAzmi1) December 20, 2019
Federal Minister for Science and Technology, Fawad Chaudhry, defined the conviction of General Pervez Musharraf and SC’s aggressive decisions against the armed forces, also referring to the apex court’s intervention on COAS’s Bajwa’s extension, an organized attempt to weaken the institution of Pakistan army.
Days after the decision, Twitter is still gripped with the pro-Musharraf trends that echo the sentiments of the Pakistani people.