PHOTO: AFP/FILE
The top court has ruled only Gen (retd) Pervez Musharraf should be tried over treason charges for subverting the Constitution in 2007.
The apex court accepted on Friday former chief justice (CJP) Abdul Hameed Dogar’s appeal to exclude him from the investigation into the high treason case filed against the military ruler in 2013 for imposing emergency in November 2007, when he was the president.
Musharraf treason trial runs into another snag
Setting aside a special court’s orders to reinvestigate the case, the Supreme Court expressed its desire to start Musharraf’s trial without any unnecessary delay.
The decision comes one day after the former president sought the Supreme Court’s permission to fly abroad for medical treatment.
In April 2014, the former army chief was formally charged with treason for imposing emergency and the Provisional Constitutional Order on November 3, 2007. But the trial met a roadblock when the special court’s three-judge bench on November 21, 2014, asked the federal government to treat ex-CJP Dogar, then prime minister Shaukat Aziz and then law minister Zahid Hamid as co-accused.
After the passage of one year, the Islamabad High Court set aside that order on the request of the three additional suspects. But on November 27, 2015, the special court again asked the Federal Investigation Agency to record the statements of all four men.
Legal experts believe Musharraf case is over and done with
Dogar again challenged the special court’s order before the IHC but his plea was dismissed on December 9, 2015.
Later, he moved the SC, which finally announced its order on Friday.
The three-judge apex court bench, headed by Justice Asif Saeed Khosa, observed a fresh investigation into high treason by associating any person lies within the prerogative of the federal government and not the special court or the IHC.
The court has reproduced all the observations and declarations made by the SC and the Sindh High Court, holding Musharraf solely responsible for the November 3, 2007 actions.
The 11-page judgment, authored by Justice Khosa, reads the observations and declarations have already attained finality and they are in public domain. Thus any reference to them in the present judgment may not be inappropriate.
The confusion prevailing with the special court as well as the IHC over the issue of aiders and abettors of Musharraf in the case would have been removed or would have become easier to resolve in view of those observations and declarations.
Though an inquiry can be directed by a court to be conducted, it should not be at a stage where the trial of the person complained against has already commenced and is nearing its conclusion, as in the present case.
A year on: Govt may shelve Musharraf's treason trial
Legal experts believe the latest ruling may be very damaging for the former military ruler as the court’s observations establish he was alone responsible of subverting the Constitution.
Musharraf’s counsel Chaudhry Faisal Hussain has, however, raised objections over the SC’s observations related to the trial of his client.
While talking to reporters, he said the SC’s comments against Musharraf might affect the trial before the special court. The legal team will also consider a review petition after consultations.
Published in The Express Tribune, February 27th, 2016.
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