Medical report wins ex-army chief two-day exemption
Special court will rule on the medical certificate tomorrow.
Musharraf cannot be arrested during the trial, as there is no such provision of arrest in the Code of Criminal Procedure Act, 1976, says Anwar Mansoor. PHOTO: AFP/FILE
ISLAMABAD:
In a rare show of decorum, the prosecution and defence teams in the treason trial against General (retd) Pervez Musharraf looked on as the special court received the former military ruler’s medical report on Tuesday. The report was submitted in a sealed envelope by Abdul Ghani Soomro, the registrar of the special court. Subsequently, the former president was granted a two-day exemption from appearing in person before the court.
“Lawyers will also be allowed to examine the report,” said Justice Faisal Arab, the head of the three-member bench. “First we will examine it and after that the registrar will provide copies of the report to each side,” he added. By the evening the report was made available to the lawyers and subsequently leaked to the media.
An official of the Armed Forces Institute of Cardiology (AFIC) had handed the report to the registrar at 11:25pm, five minutes before the court went into recess. Upon receiving the report, the court announced that it will pass an appropriate order on Thursday, while the hearing will resume today (Wednesday).
Musharraf’s lawyers claimed that they were unaware of details of the report. While speaking to media persons, a lawyer of the former military ruler, Barrister Saif, said his client is likely to remain hospitalised as medics have advised him more bed rest. On Tuesday, Justice Arab appreciated the lawyers’ efforts for maintaining restraint in the courtroom. To serve as a reminder that any possible misconduct by the defence or prosecution was being closely watched, CCTV cameras were installed on the right and left sides of the court.
It was quite uncomfortable to sit for hours in the cold auditorium of the National Library where the special court is hearing the case, but the defence team appeared relaxed. One of Musharraf’s counsels, Anwar Mansoor, even apologised for the previous day’s heated arguments in the court. At one point, mobile phone jammers in the high security court stopped functioning as cellphones bells rang during the proceedings. The court adjourned the hearing shortly before 1pm.
Mansoor held that Musharraf cannot be arrested during the trial, as there is no such provision of arrest in the Code of Criminal Procedure Act, 1976. With the help of his iPad, he cited various judgments and provisions in support of his argument that in this case arrest of the accused is not necessary.
In the previous hearing, prosecutor Akram Sheikh was of the opinion that Musharraf was persistently disobeying judicial orders and trying to implicate an institution in the case, and pleaded the court issue a non-bailable arrest warrant. On Tuesday, the court asked Musharraf’s lawyer, “In a case of contempt of court or high treason, if the accused persistently defies the court’s orders regarding appearance, can he be arrested?”
While partially agreeing with the court that Musharraf could be brought to the court as per the Code of Criminal Procedure, Mansoor cited Article 4’s fundamental rights and argued that the court has been constituted for a special purpose with limited jurisdictions, due to which it was not entitled to start criminal proceedings.
Published in The Express Tribune, January 8th, 2014.
In a rare show of decorum, the prosecution and defence teams in the treason trial against General (retd) Pervez Musharraf looked on as the special court received the former military ruler’s medical report on Tuesday. The report was submitted in a sealed envelope by Abdul Ghani Soomro, the registrar of the special court. Subsequently, the former president was granted a two-day exemption from appearing in person before the court.
“Lawyers will also be allowed to examine the report,” said Justice Faisal Arab, the head of the three-member bench. “First we will examine it and after that the registrar will provide copies of the report to each side,” he added. By the evening the report was made available to the lawyers and subsequently leaked to the media.
An official of the Armed Forces Institute of Cardiology (AFIC) had handed the report to the registrar at 11:25pm, five minutes before the court went into recess. Upon receiving the report, the court announced that it will pass an appropriate order on Thursday, while the hearing will resume today (Wednesday).
Musharraf’s lawyers claimed that they were unaware of details of the report. While speaking to media persons, a lawyer of the former military ruler, Barrister Saif, said his client is likely to remain hospitalised as medics have advised him more bed rest. On Tuesday, Justice Arab appreciated the lawyers’ efforts for maintaining restraint in the courtroom. To serve as a reminder that any possible misconduct by the defence or prosecution was being closely watched, CCTV cameras were installed on the right and left sides of the court.
It was quite uncomfortable to sit for hours in the cold auditorium of the National Library where the special court is hearing the case, but the defence team appeared relaxed. One of Musharraf’s counsels, Anwar Mansoor, even apologised for the previous day’s heated arguments in the court. At one point, mobile phone jammers in the high security court stopped functioning as cellphones bells rang during the proceedings. The court adjourned the hearing shortly before 1pm.
Mansoor held that Musharraf cannot be arrested during the trial, as there is no such provision of arrest in the Code of Criminal Procedure Act, 1976. With the help of his iPad, he cited various judgments and provisions in support of his argument that in this case arrest of the accused is not necessary.
In the previous hearing, prosecutor Akram Sheikh was of the opinion that Musharraf was persistently disobeying judicial orders and trying to implicate an institution in the case, and pleaded the court issue a non-bailable arrest warrant. On Tuesday, the court asked Musharraf’s lawyer, “In a case of contempt of court or high treason, if the accused persistently defies the court’s orders regarding appearance, can he be arrested?”
While partially agreeing with the court that Musharraf could be brought to the court as per the Code of Criminal Procedure, Mansoor cited Article 4’s fundamental rights and argued that the court has been constituted for a special purpose with limited jurisdictions, due to which it was not entitled to start criminal proceedings.
Published in The Express Tribune, January 8th, 2014.