Musharraf’s troubles: Procedure for treason trial set in motion

SC accepts request to set up special court; asks high court CJs to nominate judges.

ISLAMABAD:

The procedure to prosecute Gen (retd) Pervez Musharraf for treason began on Monday as the Supreme Court accepted a government request to set up a ‘special court’ to try the former military ruler under Article 6 of the 1973 Constitution.

A spokesman for the Supreme Court announced in a statement that the top court had received a letter from the federal law ministry asking for the establishment of a “special court to try General (retd) Pervez Musharraf under Section 2 of the High Treason Punishment Act” of the Constitution.

After receiving the letter, Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry directed the chief justices of all five high courts to put forward the names of any judges eligible for the three-judge special court by Wednesday, the statement added. Out of this list Justice Chaudhry will then choose three names for the special court and forward them to the government.

“Copies of the letter be circulated amongst the learned chief justices of all high courts… so that they may each nominate a judge of their respective court, out of which three names shall be forwarded to the government for the special court. The nomination may reach this court on November 19 positively,” reads the statement.

It further says that “in pursuance of the letter received from secretary M/o Law, Justice and Human Rights, Islamabad, addressed to the registrar, Supreme Court, stating that the federal government has decided to invoke the powers vested in it under Section 4 of the Criminal Law Amendment (Special Courts) Act, 1976 to establish a special court to try Gen (retd) Pervez Musharraf under Section 2 of the High Treason (Punishment) Act, 1973.”

Citing the law, the law ministry stated in its letter that the special court shall comprise three serving high court judges. And since there are five high courts and it would be difficult to nominate three judges for the special court, it would be appropriate that the apex court nominate judges from the high courts.

“It is, therefore, requested that the instant matter may please be placed before the chief justice of Pakistan for the nomination of three judges from the high courts. It is also requested that out of three judges, one may be nominated to be the president of the special court and this special court will function in Pakistan,” it added.

In a related development, the federal government also announced that Advocate Zulfiqar Abbas Naqvi will be the special prosecutor who will assist the special court in Musharraf’s treason trial. However, no notification was issued in this regard.

The decision to try Musharraf for treason, announced at a news conference by Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan on Sunday, comes after the former military ruler was granted bail in other cases against him, including the assassination of former prime minister Benazir Bhutto, killing of Baloch nationalist leader Nawab Akbar Khan Bugti and Lal Masjid operation.

The treason accusation relates to Musharraf’s decision in 2007 to impose emergency rule shortly before the Supreme Court was due to decide on the legality of his re-election as president a month earlier while he was still army chief.

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