Internews/Islamabad

A recent application filed by former Pakistani military ruler Pervez Musharraf in the special court trying him for treason points finger at the alleged co-conspirators behind the November 3, 2007 actions under which he imposed a controversial state of emergency in the country.
If accepted, this application would implicate a number of high-profile civilians and armed personnel in the treason trial.
The application demands that the civilian leadership and the military authorities that allegedly abetted in the imposition of the emergency should also be tried along with him.
According to the proclamation issued for the emergency, Musharraf took the decision after consulting the then prime minister, the governors of all four provinces and the chairman of the joint chiefs of staff committee, the chiefs of the armed forces, the vice-chief of army staff and the corps commanders of the Pakistan Army.
“It is therefore imperative for this court to seek the names of the above officials and supply the same to the accused to try all the accused together. In the face of such omission the trial shall stand vitiated,” says the application pending before the special court.
Regardless of whether the application is accepted or not, here is a short account of who those corps commanders and other military officers mentioned in that notification were.
Among the civilians and retired army officers, the proclamation claims that the emergency was imposed with the consent of then former prime minister Shaukat Aziz, governors Khalid Maqbool of Punjab, Ali Jan Orakzai of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Jan
Yousaf of Balochistan and Ishratul Ibad of Sindh.
Moving beyond the civilians to the army officers consulted, the most important name is that of General Ashfaq Kayani. He was vice chief of army staff on November 3, 2007 when Musharraf imposed the emergency.
Having succeeded Musharraf as the chief of army staff on November 29, 2007, Kayani served at the post for the next six years.  
He was the first chief of the army to receive an extension from a democratic government.