On the third day of his cross-examination, Interior Secretary Shahid Khan said there was no evidence to prove that former military ruler Gen (retd) Pervez Musharraf had consulted the joint chief of staff, corps commander or even the then cabinet over the imposition of emergency in November 2007.
He also exonerated the judges who took oath between November 3, 2007 and December 15, 2007, and former prime minister Shaukat Aziz’s cabinet, from the charges of abetment, collaboration and any role in influencing Musharraf’s decision.
Appearing before a three-judge special bench led by Justice Faisal Arab, Shahid Khan said the inquiry report nominated Musharraf as the accused and that is why the case had been registered against him only.
During the proceedings, Farogh Nasim, the defence counsel for Musharraf, asked the interior secretary why only the Sindh and Punjab governors’ statements had been recorded. In response, Khan said that there was no legal recommendation for recording the statements of the governors of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan.
However, he stated that the requirements of the investigation were fulfilled after the statements from the governors of Sindh and Punjab were recorded, adding that former prime minister Shaukat Aziz, his cabinet and judges who took oath under the Provisional Constitutional Order (PCO) could not be considered as an abettor.
Responding to another question of the defence counsel, the interior secretary said the prosecution contacted the defence ministry to record the statements of military officials, including the army chief, but could not succeed.
He also pointed out that though the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) has the authority to record the statement of army officials, the army itself has its own rules. But, he added, according to the rules of business, the armed forces are subservient to the defence ministry.
Musharraf’s claim of consulting other officials before imposing the emergency does not provide sufficient grounds to register a case against other army generals, Khan maintained.
He said the cabinet secretary had stated that no consultation was done through him regarding the imposition of emergency, adding that after the cabinet secretary’s statement was recorded, there was no need to investigate any other officials.
Responding to another question by Nasim, complainant Shahid Khan provided evidence of the joint investigation report not being a replica of the apex court’s decision. The investigation team had instead just given a reference of the Supreme Court’s decision in the report.
The hearing of the case was adjourned till July 2.
Published in The Express Tribune, June 27th, 2014.
COMMENTS
Comments are moderated and generally will be posted if they are on-topic and not abusive.
For more information, please see our Comments FAQ