Former President retd General Pervez Musharraf. PHOTO: AFP
ATC-II judge Sohail Ikram issued the warrants because Musharraf did not get prior permission from the court before leaving the country.
During the proceedings, Musharraf’s counsel Akhtar Shah submitted a power of attorney, prompting the ATC judge to ask the whereabouts of the accused.
The counsel for the former military dictator informed the court his client had gone abroad for medical treatment with the permission of the government.
The court, while observing that Musharraf did not have prior permission from the court before leaving the country, issued non-bailable warrants against him and adjourned the hearing of the case till April 22.
Legal proceedings were initiated against the former military dictator for detaining more than 60 judges, including former chief justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry. The judges were detained after proclamation of a state of emergency in the country.
Musharraf is facing terrorism charges in the case, which was based on an FIR registered against him on August 11, 2009 by the Secretariat police for detaining the judges.
In June 2013 the court indicted Musharraf in the judges’ detention case. According to the charge sheet, the military ruler had imposed a state of emergency and detained the judges. Fifteen lawyers had already recorded their statements as witnesses against Musharraf.
On June 11, 2013, the Islamabad High Court (IHC) had granted a pre-arrest bail to the former president.
On September 11, the same court issued non-bailable arrest warrants against the former president but later withdrew when his counsel moved an application for withdrawal of the warrant.
Since the indictment, 17 of a total of 46 witnesses have so far recorded their testimonies in the case.
On June 5 last year, two witnesses had deposited before the court that they did not see any judge leaving his residency during the proclamation of a state of emergency in the country on November 3, 2007 and onwards.
Published in The Express Tribune, April 9th, 2016.
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