File photo of Pervez Musharraf. PHOTO: AFP
Attorney General Munir A Malik claimed that there is strong evidence against former president General (retd) Pervez Musharraf in the high treason case and the punishment for Article 6 of the Constitution can either be death or life imprisonment.
Speaking with journalists at the Supreme Court on Wednesday, the top attorney of the federation said that the collection of evidence would not take long after which the decision will be made quickly by the special court. As soon as the special court receives the complaint, the Federal Investigation Agency will be authorised to arrest Musharraf, he added. So far, the apex court’s July 31, 2009 judgment is cited as the main evidence against him. On Sunday, Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar announced the government’s decision to start proceedings against Musharraf under Article 6.
Meanwhile, the attorney general also said that the power to grant bail lies with the special court and if the accused appeals, then the court will have to listen to it.
The federal government has appointed Zulfiqar Abbas Naqvi as the prosecutor in Musharraf’s treason case.
However, SM Zafar, a senior lawyer, said that after the 18th Constitutional Amendment, no treason case could be filed retrospectively. Musharraf’s lawyers will definitely present this insight before the special court, he told The Express Tribune.
After the 18th Constitutional Amendment was promulgated, the word ‘suspend’ had been added to Article 6(1) so that in the future, no one could even put it in abeyance. However, the retroactive condition was omitted from the original draft of the 1973 Constitution, he explained.
The president’s approval
Secretary of Law and Justice Barrister Zafarullah Khan has reportedly said that a summary of the case against Musharraf has been sent to President Mamnoon Hussain for approval.
Once the president approves the summary, the Ministry of Information will issue a notification about the special court, officials quoted him as saying. Funds for the hearing and the investigation will be decided after a discussion with the Ministry of Finance and the location of the hearing has not been decided yet, said the law secretary.
Published in The Express Tribune, November 21st, 2013.
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The most interesting role is being played by Pakistan’s electronic media which owes its independence, not to any democratic government but to a military ruler, Pervez Musharraf. Every evening, there is a mock court in the studios and the presiding judges, the anchorperson, invites guests and moderates discussion in such a way which culminates in proving Musharraf guilt. The media-savvy top judge, who is known for taking clues from media headlines for his sou motto actions, must be feeling happy and the fact that these programs are interference in the judicial process and amount to influencing the prosecution which is a contempt of court under article 204 of the Constitution, goes totally unnoticed by the top court. http://passivevoices.wordpress.com/2013/11/21/musharraf-in-the-court-of-media-anchors/