Appeal rejected: Ex-president Musharraf’s petition cast aside by SHC

Lawyer’s request for ‘conditional’ permission to contest elections turned down.

KARACHI:

Former president Pervez Musharraf’s plea against the rejection of his nomination papers was dismissed on Thursday, in view of the Supreme Court’s declaration that he abrogated the constitution and sacked and detained the superior judiciary judges in 2007.

On Wednesday, Musharraf challenged the rejection of his nomination papers for NA-250 Karachi; his papers were rejected by the returning officer on the very same grounds as his plea. A three-member appellate bench of the Sindh High Court had adjourned the hearing till Thursday due to the absence of Musharraf’s lawyer.

On Thursday, the former dictator’s request to permit him to contest the polls while also putting a court martial into process was turned down by a three-member election appellate bench of the Sindh High Court.

Judges sacking case

Musharraf’s lawyer, Khawaja Naveed Ahmed, said Pervez Musharraf intended to contest elections from Karachi’s NA-250 constituency, but the returning officer rejected his nomination papers over allegations Musharraf had held the constitution in abeyance, and detained and removed judges of the superior court, including Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry.

The lawyer argued it was not only Musharraf who was responsible for this action, but also the prime minister at the time, the various corps commanders and others who had backed his decision.

Naveed also argued that no court had ordered Musharraf to be punished under Article 6, and therefore his nomination papers could not be rejected on this basis.

Military trial

As the judges were not convinced by such arguments, another lawyer for Musharraf, A R Mughal, contended that being an ex-serviceman, Musharraf could not be tried by any civil court, but could only face general field court martial under the army act.

The judges overruled his contention, saying that the army act was also governed by the Constitution, which the former dictator had abrogated for years.

Making another failed attempt, Mughal pleaded to the court to allow his client to contest the polls even “conditionally” by also ordering his “court martial”.

The bench, headed by Justice Maqbool Baqir, also turned down this request. “Since the SC has given its judgment, there was no need of any further declaration by any court that the petitioner (Musharraf) abrogated the constitution, sacked and detained the judges,” the bench noted.

“We, therefore, dismiss this petition,” Justice Baqir added by passing a short order, which would be followed by a detailed judgment to be issued later.

Published in The Express Tribune, April 19^th, 2013.