Musharraf’s trial: Court challenge plan in limbo

Ex-president counsel wants to make sure if the judges are unbiased.


Peer Muhammad November 24, 2013
Former president Pervez Musharraf. PHOTO: REUTERS

ISLAMABAD:


All Pakistan Muslim League (APML) has put off its plan to challenge the composition of the three-judge special court constituted by the government for trying its leader Pervez Musharraf for treason under Article 6 of the Constitution.


The party through its legal panel had decided to challenge the composition of the special bench on Friday.

The move was delayed to collect information about the three members of the special trial court with regards to their sentiments about Musharraf and their activeness in the anti-Musharraf lawyers’ movement.

“We have decided to challenge the composition of the bench and it would be done once the evidence regarding these judges with regards to the former president is collected, as most of them have anti-Musharraf sentiments and played an active role in the movement against the former president,” said Ahmed Raza Qasuri, one of Musharraf’s lawyers.

He said that the past developments with regards to Musharraf trial show that there is bias against their leader as the government referred the case to the Supreme Court without any Constitutional ground.

For a fair trial, one of the basic requirements under article 10-A of the Constitution is that the judges should be neutral, unbiased and independent, said Qasuri. “It is our constitutional right to challenge the composition of the bench if we feel that we could not receive justice from a certain judge or composition of judges.”

The composition of the court can be challenged at any stage of the trial and that was why APML has delayed it and was collecting background information about the members of the bench, he added.

Earlier, the APML information secretary Asia Ishaq had stated that the former president’s lawyers will challenge the special court before initiating the trial as all the three judges have records to be involved in the anti-Musharraf lawyers’ movement and they would be influence the neutral trial.

On the request of the government, Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry forwarded five names one from each High Courts to the government and selected three of them. These three judges include Faisal Arab of Sindh High Court, Syed Tahira Safdar of Balochistan High Court and Yawar Ali of Lahore High Court.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 24th, 2013.

COMMENTS (11)

Zaka | 10 years ago | Reply

What about the present government's saying "we need dollars so we cannot afford anything against US". What about PM's statement that the judges shall wear masks while hearing cases? Musharraf is a brave leader and will emerge victorious from all these farbricated cases.

Syed | 10 years ago | Reply @Shaikh Mohommad: Did he hand you also over to Americans, then how did you come back? He apprehended or handed over only those who were criminals, committed crimes elsewhere and wanted to take refuge in Pakistan, taking it to be the safe heaven for all criminals and dguggists, as Pakistan has become now under your fraud degree leaders. For God sake stop this black propaganda for the person who did good to common people. He has no money scandals despite his 10 years absolute rule. Free media, bank loans at door step, mobile phone service, Chengji Rickshaw, fly overs in big cities, extensive road repairs / construction, extensive irrigation system repairs, foreign schollarships for students, all without ethnic, prochial or creed distinction. I think as a nation we slap on the face of our honest, educated, internationally respected brains like Musharraf, Tahir-ul-Qadri, Zaid Hamid, Shaukat Aziz, Moeen Qurreshi, Asghar Khan and declare them, "Jews or American Agents" or make them Qadiani. They do wonders in the world and we couldn't get out of the slavery of these fraud degree feudal lords. You have all thieves, swindlers, ephidrine smugglers, haji plunderers, as your leaders and declare them the best politicians, with a crooked smile on your face. I pity you. May Allah keep Pakistan safe from these scavenger fraud degree feudals turned politician
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