Special Court summons Musharraf on March 31

Asks former president to record statement under Section 342 of CrPC

ISLAMABAD: The Special Court trying former military ruler General Pervez Musharraf for subverting the Constitution in November 2007 has summoned him on March 31 to record his statement under Section 342 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC).

The Special Court’s three-judge bench – headed by Justice Mazhar Mian Alam Khel and comprising Justice Tahira Safdar and Justice Yawar Ali – issued this instruction on Tuesday as it resumed hearing of the government’s plea to initiate proceedings against Musharraf under Article 6 of the Constitution.



Appearing before the bench, Akram Sheikh – head of the prosecution team – referred to the latest SC judgment, wherein the top court had expressed desire that the trial of Pervez Musharraf should proceed without any unnecessary delay.

Sheikh told the bench that statements of prosecution witnesses have been recorded. “Now we want that statement of Musharraf be recorded and secondly the case be heard on a daily basis,” he pleaded.

On the other hand, Musharraf’s counsel Chaudhry Faisal Hussain produced Musharraf’s medical report wherein a medical team observed that Musharraf has been suffering from a severe medical condition.

“This surgery has to be done as soon as possible. Unfortunately, the medical facilities or technology to carry out the suggested surgery is not available in Pakistan,” said the report.

However, the bench observed that the procedure adopted for producing medical report is not correct.

Justice Mazhar Mian Alam Khel remarked that after issuance of the SC’s latest judgment, they have no option but to further proceed the trial and record statement of the accused under section 342 CrPC.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 9^th, 2016.