Ex-generals who helped Musharraf grab power now opposed to him

ISLAMABAD, February 22 (Internews): Three former generals, who helped former army chief General Pervez Musharraf oust Nawaz Sharif as prime minister in 1999 and who visited the former premier in custody to obtain on gunpoint his resignation and advice to dissolve the National Assembly can be called in a court of law to give whole and truthful account of the mutiny staged by Musharraf, sources here say.
Sources say Musharraf, who staged a coup against an elected and constitutional government in 1999, will not find the three generals on his side if he was tried in any court of law. Sharif over the weekend mentioned the three generals in his address to the Central General Council meeting of his Pakistan Muslim League-N.
Lt Gen (retd) Mahmood Ahmad was then director general of Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), Maj Gen (retd) Ali Jan Orakzai was deputy chief of the general staff of the military headquarters and Maj Gen (retd) Ehsan ul Haq was director general Military Intelligence (MI) in October 1999.
Ahmad, who was in New York on the day of the 9/11 incident and later acted as interlocutor with the Taliban government in Afghanistan under Mullah Omar, was ignored for elevation to the rank of four-star General. He had several meetings with Omar in Kandahar. On retirement he was made head of a concern that manufactures fertiliser.
Ahmad became a religious person after performing Haj and sported a beard when he left the army. Upon completion his tenure as head of the organisation he disappeared in private life and never commented on what he did during the controversial coup against the Sharif government.
Orakzai was promoted to the rank of lieutenant general upon promotion of his immediate boss Lt Gen (retd) Aziz Khan who staged the real coup with active cooperation of Ahmad. Orakzai became Corps Commander Peshawar where he also served as governor after his retirement.
In a visit to the United States, Orakzai had detailed one-to-one interaction with former US President George Bush. He was accompanying Musharraf. The former president expressed his displeasure at the meeting of Orakzai with Bush. He resigned from the office after returning from the US visit and is believed to have been forced to do so by Musharraf.
Orakzai was the first who struck a deal with the tribes in the tribal areas. The truce deal brought peace to the area for some time. He did not accept any office afterwards and he is spending retired life in his native area.
Haq was first elevated to the rank of lieutenant general and appointed chief of ISI. Upon completion of his tenure he was promoted to the rank of four-star general and made chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee.
Of the three generals only Haq could reach to the rank of four-star general. He did not accept any office after attaining superannuation. He was retired towards end of 2007 and now he is running a think-tank in Islamabad.
None of the three generals are comfortable with Musharraf and have fallen out with him. They went to Sharif to get his signature on the already drafted resignation in 1999 soon after the former premier was deposed.
Mahmood was never seen meeting Musharraf afterwards while Orakzai also parted his ways with his former boss after returning from the US in 2006. Haq had meetings with Musharraf in official capacity but never owned the political steps taken by his former boss. They don’t meet each other anymore.