LHC seeks govt’s reply on Musharraf’s plea on Tuesday

Special court all set to announce verdict in high treason case against former president on Tuesday

LAHORE: The Lahore High Court on Monday issued a notice to the federal government, seeking a reply till Tuesday on the civil miscellaneous application filed by former president Gen (retd) Pervez Musharraf challenging the formulation of the special court trying him for allegedly committing high treason.

It came while Justice Sayyed Mazahar Ali Akbar Naqvi was hearing the petition filed by the former army chief seeking a stay in proceedings in the treason case.

Earlier this month, a three-judge special court – which has been hearing Musharraf’s treason trial since December 2013 – said that it would announce its verdict on December 17 after hearing the arguments of the new prosecution team appointed by the government.

In an interview on Express News show, Centre Stage last week, Interior Minister Ijaz Shah said the government believes legal requirements have not been completed in the high treason case against the former military ruler and that he “has not been given [right to] fair trial”.

He questioned the entire premise of the high treason charge brought in against Musharraf by the Nawaz Sharif-led government in 2013 for subverting the Constitution, saying that the “order under which he had been booked was wrong”. He said it would be travesty of justice if a man accused of murder was not given the right to defend himself.

During the proceedings, Musharraf’s counsel Azhar Siddique argued that it was unconstitutional for the special court to hear the high treason case against the former dictator as the matter was not approved by the then federal cabinet.

“Former premier Nawaz Sharif had constituted the special court on his own discretion,” he added.

Justice Naqvi asked, “Would it be reasonable to form a full bench to hear Musharraf’s petitions?”

Musharraf and the government’s lawyers replied the court had nearly heard the entire matter and there was no need to form a full bench.

Case history

The high treason case was filed against the former president by the PML-N government in 2013 for clamping the state of emergency on November 3, 2007. Musharraf was booked in the high treason case in December 2013 and indicted on March 31, 2014.

Courtesy to litigation at appellate forums, the trial was delayed and the former army chief was allowed by the courts as well as the interior ministry to leave Pakistan in March 2016.

The delays

A three-member special court – comprising Chief Justice of the Peshawar High Court (PHC) Waqar Seth, Justice Nazar Akbar of the Sindh High Court (SHC) and Justice Shahid Karim of the LHC – is expected to announce verdict in the long-overdue high treason case on Tuesday (December 17).

The decision, reserved on November 19, was originally fixed to be announced on November 28. However, the PTI government through the office of the interior ministry via the attorney general for Pakistan filed a petition in the Islamabad High Court (IHC) seeking to restrain the special court “from passing final judgment”.

The IHC bench stopped the special court from issuing the verdict and directed the government to notify a new prosecution team. The next hearing is scheduled for December 17.

Petition in LHC

In the petition, Musharraf requested the high court to stay the trial being conducted in absentia until he is fit to appear in court and to order the interior ministry and the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) to investigate alleged aiders and abettors for proper appreciation of facts and evidence at trial.

The petition also raised objections over the formulation of special court and constitution of the prosecution team, claiming that it violated the essence of Articles 90 and 91 of the Constitution.Article 90: exercise of executive authority of the Federation

(1) Subject to the Constitution, the executive authority of the Federation shall be exercised in the name of the President by the Federal Government, consisting of the Prime Minister and the Federal Ministers, which shall act through the Prime Minister, who shall be the chief executive of the Federation.

(2) In the performance of his functions under the Constitution, the Prime Minster may act either directly or through the Federal Ministers.

Article 91: the cabinet

(1) There shall be a Cabinet of Ministers, with the Prime Minister at its head, to aid and advise the President in the exercise of his functions.

(2) The National Assembly shall meet on the twenty-first day following the day on which a general election to the Assembly is held, unless sooner summoned by the President.

(3) After the election of the Speaker and the Deputy Speaker, the National Assembly shall, to the exclusion of any other business, proceed to elect without debate one of its Muslim members to be the Prime Minister.

(4) The Prime Minister shall be elected by the votes of the majority of the total membership of the National Assembly:

Provided that, if no member secures such majority in the first poll, a second poll shall be held between the members who secure the two highest numbers of votes in the first poll and the member who secures a majority of votes of the members present and voting shall be declared to have been elected as Prime Minister: Provided further that, if the number of votes secured by two or more members securing the highest number of votes is equal, further poll shall be held between them until one of them secures a majority of votes of the members present and voting.

(5) The member elected under clause (4) shall be called upon by the President to assume the office of Prime Minister and he shall, before entering upon the office, make before the President oath in the form set out in the Third Schedule: Provided that there shall be no restriction on the number of terms for the office of the Prime Minister.

(6) The Cabinet, together with the Ministers of State, shall be collectively responsible to the Senate and the National Assembly.

(7) The Prime Minister shall hold office during the pleasure of the President, but the President shall not exercise his powers under this clause unless he is satisfied that the Prime Minister does not command the confidence of the majority of the members of the National Assembly, in which case he shall summon the National Assembly and require the Prime Minister to obtain a vote of confidence from the Assembly.

(8) The Prime Minister may, by writing under his hand addressed to the President, resign his office.

(9) A Minister who for any period of six consecutive months is not a member of the National Assembly shall, at the expiration of that period, cease to be a Minister and shall not before the dissolution of that Assembly be again appointed a Minister unless he is elected a member of that Assembly: Provided that nothing contained in this clause shall apply to a Minister who is member of the Senate.

(10) Nothing contained in this Article shall be construed as disqualifying the Prime Minister or any other Minister or a Minister of State for continuing in office during any period during which the National Assembly stands dissolved, or as preventing the appointment of any person as Prime Minister or other Minister or a Minister of State during any such period.