Musharraf treason case review: IHC sends notices to former president, PM

ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Thursday issued notices to former president Gen (retired) Pervez Musharraf, former prime minister Shaukat Aziz, former chief justice Abdul Hameed Dogar, and law minister Zahid Hamid on a government petition seeking a review of the order passed in the treason case against Musharraf.

A division bench comprising Justice Noorul Haq N Qureshi and Justice Athar Minallah reissued notices after Additional Attorney General Afnan Karim Kundi apprised the bench that notices were issued to the respondents earlier but no one appeared before the court.

On November 10, the IHC had set aside a special court’s order that had called on the federal government to include more names as abettors in former military ruler’s act of imposing emergency in November 2007.

An IHC division bench ordered reinvestigation in the treason case against Musharraf in light of the government’s earlier proposal to reinvestigate the matter. The federal government filed the petition seeking review of the order passed in the case, saying the government wanted clarity regarding some ambiguity in the order.

In the petition, Kundi said the government stated its willingness to reinvestigate, but the court took it as an admission that the earlier investigation was defective.

He said the government had agreed to reinvestigate in good faith and in the interest of justice to rectify ‘legal flaws’ in the order of the special court. The order had directed the federal government to nominate Aziz, Justice Dogar and Hamid as Musharraf’s co-accused.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 13^th, 2016.