Musharraf treason trial: All eyes are on govt, says Justice Khawaja

Supreme Court directs govt to expedite investigation.

ISLAMABAD: Disposing of all petitions seeking Gen (retd) Pervez Musharraf’s trial for treason, the Supreme Court directed the federal government to investigate the charges against the former military ruler expeditiously.

All eyes are on the government, remarked Justice Jawwad S Khawaja, who was heading a three-judge bench of the apex court. He hoped there would be no unnecessary delay in the investigation.

Attorney General Munir A Malik earlier informed the bench that a special committee constituted by the government has already started investigation.

On June 24, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif told lawmakers in the National Assembly that Musharraf would be tried under Article 6 for subverting the Constitution on November 3, 2007.

Pervez Musharraf, who returned to Pakistan from four years of self-imposed exile in March, has been under house arrest at his plush farmhouse on the edge of Islamabad since April 19.

In its written order, the bench said that all the petitioners in the case had sought court’s direction to the federal government for lodging a complaint under Article 6 against Musharraf and others [his abettors].



“The federal government had filed an initial statement which has been reproduced in our order of 24.6.2013. In the said order, we had asked the attorney general to file a further statement ‘providing details of the actions envisioned by the federal government in light of the present petitions and the process through which such actions will be given effect’”.

In response to the court orders, the attorney general said that the prime minister had directed the interior secretary to forthwith direct Federal Investigation Agency (FIA)’s director general to constitute a special investigative team of senior officers to commence investigation in relation to Parvez Musharraf’s acts on November 3, 2007 that may amount to high treason under Article 6 of the Constitution. The team would also finalise the statement of case to be put up by the federal government before the special court to be constituted under the Criminal Law Amendment (Special Courts) Act, 1976 ‘as expeditiously as possible’.

The law entrusts the investigation of the offence of high treason to the FIA under entry No.14 of the Schedule of the FIA Act, 1974 read with Section 3(a) and 6 thereof. However, in order to ensure expeditious completion of the inquiry and investigation, the prime minister is also considering constituting a commission to oversee and monitor the progress of the proceedings, the reply read.

It stated that on the completion of the investigation, the federal government would file the requisite complaint under Section 5 of the Criminal Law Amendment (Special Courts) Act, 1976 and take steps to constitute a special court in accordance with Section 4 of the said Act for the trial of the offence.

The court, in its order, said that prayer in these petitions effectively appeared to have been accepted by the government. “We can expect that such investigation shall be concluded without unnecessary delay.”

The court said it had also taken into consideration the resolution of the Senate on January 23, 2012 and had taken judicial notice of the speech of the president and that of the prime minister in parliament.

“We are consciously, deliberately and as submitted by Muhammad Ibrahim Satti, counsel for the respondent [Pervez Musharraf] not touching the question of ‘abrogation’ or ‘subversion’ or ‘holding in abeyance the Constitution’ or ‘any conspiracy in that behalf’ or indeed the question of suspending or holding the Constitution in abeyance or the issue as to abetment or collaboration in the acts mentioned in Article 6 of the Constitution. This is so because any finding/observation or view expressed by us may potentially result in prejudice to the inquiry/investigation or subsequent trial should that take place as a result of such investigation,” the court said.


Published in The Express Tribune, July 4^th, 2013.