Ghazi murder case: Verdict reserved on maintainability

Defence lawyer says army was called out by government to carry out Lal Masjid operation

ISLAMABAD: A sessions court on Saturday reserved verdict on an application filed by Pervez Musharraf challenging Ghazi Abdur Rasheed murder case against himself.

Akhtar Shah, Musharraf’s lawyer, maintained in the petition that army was called out to carry out the Lal Masjid operation by the civilian authorities under Article 245 of the Constitution. He said high-ups of Islamabad Capital Territory administration and the Islamabad Police had written letters to the army and handed over the area to them.

Shah has maintained in the petition, submitted to Additional District and Sessions Judge (West) Pervaizul Qadir Memon, that as per Section 132 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC), no criminal case could be filed against any official of the armed forces when they are acting in aid of civil power except with the sanction of the government.

“Since the federal government’s sanction has not been obtained in this instance, the case against Pervez Musharraf is invalid,” said Shah and requested the  court to quash the case.

Citing report of a Supreme Court-appointed judicial commission to inquire into the operation, Shah said, “Ghazi Abdur Rasheed was shot in the leg and asked to surrender but the militants shot back at SSG commandoes and Ghazi was killed in the crossfire.”

He said the case against the former military ruler was registered on the orders of the court, otherwise the police have found no case against Musharraf. “Police also said that Musharraf was innocent and placed him Column No 2 in their report to the magistrate. Non-compliance of Section 173 of CrPC has rendered the case invalid,” Shah said and prayed that the case against Musharraf be cancelled.

Ghazi’s son Haroonur Raheed Ghazi’s counsel Tariq Asad, however, said even when acting in aid of civil power, the armed forces were bound to act within certain limits. Citing the 1999 Liaquat Hussain vs the Federation of Pakistan case, Asad said armed forces’ powers were restricted and they were bound to act as subordinate to civil power.

After hearing the arguments, the court reserved the verdict and adjourned the case till July 30.

Aabpara police had registered a murder case against Musharraf on the directions of the Islamabad High Court on September 2, 2013. The former president was arrested on October 10 and was granted bail by a sessions judge on November 4, 2013.

The sessions court issued non-bailable arrest warrants for Musharraf on February 20, and initiated the process to declare the former president a proclaimed offender in the case after he failed to appear before the court by issuing a proclamation on May 21, 2016.

However, Musharraf’s counsel Akhtar Shah filed an application in the same court on May 23 challenging the murder case against his client. He had requested the court to suspend the summons and proclamation process and decide his petition first. The court will announce the verdict on the petition on July 30.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 26^th, 2016.