Judges’ detention case: Musharraf approaches IHC for post-arrest bail

Challenges trial court order which had rejected his petition.

ISLAMABAD:

After a trial court rejected his post-arrest bail, ex-president General (retd) Pervez Musharraf on Friday filed for bail in Islamabad High Court (IHC) in the judges’ detention case. 

Musharraf through his counsel Advocate Ilyas Siddiqi maintained in his application the trial court had rejected his post-arrest bail despite the fact that terrorism charges do not apply in his client’s case.

In his bail application, the counsel maintained that there was no evidence against his client and he could not be held responsible, while adding that section 344 of the Pakistan Penal Code which applies in case of wrongful confinement for 10 or more days, under which he is being prosecuted, is a bailable offence.

In his application, Musharraf contended that the main complainant Advocate Chaudhry Aslam Ghumman had withdrawn his complaint and disassociated himself from the case. The case is based on a First Information Report registered against Musharraf on August 11, 2009 by the Secretariat police. IHC has fixed his application for May 27.

Earlier this week, an anti-terrorism court (ATC) had rejected Musharraf’s bail plea in the judge’s detention case. On April 18, Justice Shaukat Aziz Siddiqui had also rejected his bail application and he was arrested. Musharraf was shifted to his farmhouse in Chak Shahzad, after it was declared a sub-jail.



The police had also failed to submit a complete challan in this case from which the statements of judges detained in November 2007 under the emergency are missing. The Secretariat Police Station house officer had approached the Supreme Court registrar but there has been no progress so far.

Earlier, the prosecutor Aamir Nadeem had argued that the accused was facing terrorism charges and the maximum punishment in this case is 10 years.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 25^th, 2013.