Gen. Raheel Sharif helped me exit Pakistan: Musharraf

Pervez Musharraf

Pakistan’s former President Gen. Pervez Musharraf (retd.) has said ex-Army chief General Raheel Sharif’s intervention helped him exit Pakistan.

Participating in a talk show on Dunya News Monday night, Gen. Musharraf said Gen. Sharif helped him leave the country by keeping the government from pressuring the courts.

‘A politicised case’

“Well he [Raheel Sharif] did help me. I have been his boss and I have been the Army Chief before him. He helped out, because the cases are politicised, they put me on the Exit Control List (ECL), they turned it into a political issue,” he said.

When asked to explain, Gen. Musharraf (73) said Gen. Sharif played a role in “releasing the pressure” on courts to prevent him from leaving the country.

The statement came weeks after Gen. Sharif retired inNovember after completing his three-year tenure.

He was succeeded by General Qamar Javed Bajwa.

Gen. Musharraf said: “Once he [Gen Sharif] got the government to relieve the pressure that they were exerting, the courts gave their judgement and allowed me to go abroad for treatment.”

Gen. Musharraf was able to fly out of Pakistan in March this year after the interior ministry issued a notification to remove his name from the Exit Control List,   following Supreme Court’s order to lift the ban on his foreign travel.