SHC disposes of petition against Musharraf

Court asks petitioner to file the case in the SC as it is currently hearing miscellaneous cases in this regard.

KARACHI:

The Sindh High Court (SHC) has disposed of a petition seeking a trial of former president General (retd) Pervez Musharraf for allegedly committing high treason by abrogating the Constitution.

Announcing its judgment on Thursday, the SHC asked petitioner Advocate Moulvi Iqbal Haider to move the Supreme Court (SC) and disposed of the petition, saying that many similar prayers had already been granted by the SC in a case titled “Sindh High Court Bar Association (SHCBA) versus the Federation against the illegal acts of November 3, 2007, by General (retd) Pervez Musharraf”.

The bench, which had earlier reserved its judgment, announced this morning that they believed that promulgation of the Provisional Constitution Order (PCO) on November 3, 2007, clearly indicated that Musharraf had abrogated and subverted the Constitution and was liable to be prosecuted for high treason. However, the bench said that in its judgement on July 3, 2009, the SC had directed to prosecute Musharraf and hence, the SHC also refrains from directing the federal government to try the former president.

They also dismissed similar allegations against former attorney-general Malik Muhammad Qayyum and former senior adviser Sharifuddin Pirzada and held that the petitioner had not produced any substantial evidence against them.

The bench also dismissed a contention by respondent Sharifuddin Pirzada’s counsel that the SHC cannot take cognisance of high treason, abrogation or subversion of the Constitution, unless the federal government had nominated a Pakistani citizen to lodge a complaint against the people involved. The bench said that the contention was partly correct, but it would be a misconception that the court cannot issue a writ of mandamus under Article 199 of the Constitution.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 15th, 2010.