Out of bounds: Musharraf contests trial in special court

Counsel says ex-military chief can only be tried in military court.

ISLAMABAD:

Former military ruler General (retd) Pervez Musharraf has challenged the civilian special court’s authority to hear the high-treason case against him on the plea that when he introduced the 2007 emergency he was the army chief and as such a military court alone could examine his actions.

One of his counsels, Dr Khalid Ranjha, filed the petition on Saturday in the Islamabad High Court.

The ex-military strongman is due to appear before a special court on December 24 to face treason charges under Article 6 for suspending, subverting and abrogating the Constitution, imposing an emergency in the country in November 2007 and detaining judges of the superior courts.

The federal government had requested the Supreme Court on November 18 to constitute a ‘special court’ for the former dictator’s trial.



“He imposed the emergency as army chief and not as the president and [therefore, the case] can only be taken up by a military court under the Army Act,” Dr Ranjha told The Express Tribune. Although they have not contacted the army yet, it is still the obligation of the military to come forward as it is also a party in the case, he maintained.

He also argued that the treason charge levelled against his client was politically motivated and any proceedings in a civilian court could not be fair and transparent.

Ranjha said the emergency imposed on November 3 was not a unilateral decision but the move had the support of all the relevant stakeholders.

The petition stated that Musharraf could not be tried in court without including those who had taken part in the act. While making the secretaries of defence and interior parties to the case, the counsel requested the court to stop the federal government from conducting investigations against Musharraf in a special court.

The former president seems to be pursuing all options, including seeking support from the international community, to rescue him from any possible prosecution.

The Islamabad High Court accepted the application and Justice Riaz Ahmed Khan will take up the matter on December 23 – a day before the proceedings begin.

Earlier, the court had dismissed a petition challenging the composition of the special court on the grounds that the petitioner was not an aggrieved party. The petition was filed by Riaz Hanif Rahi, who is a member of the Islamabad High Court Bar Association (IHCBA), challenging the notification issued by the law ministry for the trial. However, the court declared the petition was not maintainable.

But after Musharraf himself filed the petition through his counsel, the court accepted the application.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 22^nd, 2013.