Former president Pervez Musharraf. PHOTO: REUTERS
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.
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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.
Shaikh Mohammad@:Jumping on the bandwagon of repetitive propaganda lies,foreign fighters on the run evading capture in Afghanistan by the American forces were caught fleeing by the Pakistani army,these people were offered to their countries of origin,when their countries refused to take them back,that's when they were offered to the Americans,Anti musharraf brigade turned these people into Pakistani's,there had been less than ten drone attacks,nothing like the unlimited amount agreement by the corrupt civilian rule,PPP&pmln are responsible,whole world was with the U.s.a,India was ready and willing to become an ally,isolated Pakistan would have been accused of harbouring terrorists,an excuse to attack Pakistan to make it weak, trade sanctions would have been imposed,attack on Pakistan to make it weak,would then have been forced to accept term's and conditions.Musharraf saved Pakistan at the time,without thinking ignorant people blame musharraf for all the problems.
He may get hanged! Maybe.... Just MayB!
Nothing will happen to Sir Pervez Musharraf Instead, I predict this corrupt system will fall in March 2014 when the quick march of this government will start and Musharraf will return as a hero Insha Allah!
Again this is a NOORA KUSHTEE !!
@Sultan: Musharraf will win because he has done everything correctly and rightly for the betterment of the country. Yes I agree. Handing over people to USA and getting money, joining American war on terror and allowing drone strikes to continue, making Pakistan an American client state, shaking hands with criminals and setting them free and giving amnesty and pardon to everyone concerned, etc. etc. Long Live Musharraf for serving the interest of USA.
Everybody knows that Musharraf will ultimately be given a safe passage in the end but atleast PML-N showed courage to file treason case against somebody who has abrogated the constitution. The bench nominated for this case has remarkable respect and reputation. Being the resident of Karachi and an employee of Sindh Secretariat I know the honesty and reputation of respectable Justice Faisal Arab and he has given landmark decisions putting rule of law ahead of everything.
Well, I know nothing except that people of Pakistan still remember Musharraf for his services. As a lay man, a taxi or bus driver and you will get an idea that whether Musharraf's tenure was better for the country or not.
This fake case will never proceed and if it does Musharraf will win because he has done everything correctly and rightly for the betterment of the country. People like Musharraf much more than NS.
The constitution of the panel is illegal because the government, the plaintiff in the case, was given the right to hand pick 3 judges from a pre-handpicked list of 5. This is an atrocity and a travesty of justice. The case should be tried by the full bench of the Supreme Court, as befits the seriousness of the case.