Musharraf treason case: IHC rejects Dogar’s plea against special court

Declares former chief justice’s petition not maintainable

ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Wednesday dismissed the petition of former chief justice Abdul Hameed Dogar challenging the special court’s order of November 27.

A division bench, comprising Justice Noorul Haq N Qureshi and Justice Aamer Farooq, ruled that it was not maintainable.

The ex-CJP had challenged the special court’s order directing the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) to record the statements of suspects anew into the former president Pervez Musharraf’s high treason case.

In its four-page order, the special court told the FIA to record the statements of Musharraf, Dogar, former premier Shaukat Aziz and ex-law minister Zahid Hamid regarding their role in the alleged subversion of the Constitution on November 3, 2007.

A week after the verdict, Dogar through his counsel Syed Iftikhar Gilani had challenged the judgment before the IHC saying that the special court had no power to order investigation against persons not cited by the federal government.

When the case was taken up on Wednesday, the counsel argued that the order was not within the powers of the special court as conferred by the Criminal Law Amendment (special courts) Act, 1976. Under the Act, he said, the powers to amend or submit additional statement, at any time, was conferred on the federal government and not to the special court.

On November 10, the IHC had also directed the federal government to reinvestigate the alleged aiders and abettors in the case without being influenced by previous remarks and order.

The IHC had set aside the special court’s November 21, 2014 order directing to include the four names of abettors in the treason case. However, the special court again asked the investigation team to record anew statements of Musharraf, Dogar, Aziz and Hamid.

In his arguments, Gilani said that the special court’s verdict has disregarded the judgment of the IHC. Calling it a repeat and harsher version of its earlier order subsequently set aside by IHC, he said that the petitioner felt harassed and mortified.

Following the arguments, the court reserved order which was later announced dismissing the petition on grounds of maintainability.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 10^th, 2015.