The interim government will not take any long-term decisions and will confine itself to the mandate of organising fair and timely polls, says Soofi. PHOTO: REUTERS
In response to the court’s request for an opinion, the caretaker government said that it will abstain from giving any independent statement concerning General (retd) Pervez Musharraf’s ongoing trial under Article 6 of the Constitution and will instead comply with judicial orders in this regard.
Ahmer Bilal Soofi, caretaker federal law minister, said that the government will file its reply by Monday in the Musharraf treason case — in which it will seek the court’s advice regarding any cooperation in the case, instead of taking a different stance.
Caretaker Information minister Arif Nizami said that his government will not only implement the court’s order, but will also follow it in letter and spirit. “The law is equal for everybody and is applicable to Musharraf too,” he remarked.
Attorney General Irfan Qadir had earlier stated that the interim government’s prime responsibility was to conduct free and fair elections. The bench head, Justice Jawwad S Khawaja, asked the attorney general to submit his statement in a written form so that the court could pass an appropriate order to the caretaker government. However, the caretaker government abstained from giving any opinion.
Regarding the response expected by the caretaker government on Monday, Soofi said that the court will be asked to give the interim government directions pertaining to Musharraf’s case, as the interim government will not take any long-term decisions and will confine itself to the mandate of organising fair and timely polls.
Responding to a question about Islamabad High Court’s decision against Musharraf, Soofi said that law enforcement agencies are dealing with this matter accordingly and the federal government will not get directly involved.
The three-member bench comprising Justice Jawwad S Khawaja, Justice Khilji Arif Hussain and Justice Ijaz Afzal Khan will resume hearing five identical petitions filed against the former military dictator.
The composition of the bench was changed by Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry on Saturday after requests for constitution of larger bench came from legal representatives of the former president.
Published in The Express Tribune, April 22nd, 2013.
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Rightly so. It is government's prarogative but SC is crossing its limit.
What happen to the Case of Chief Justice Son's case? Is he negotiating with Musharaff too? to get him out?