High-treason trial: Special court rejects plea for Musharraf’s arrest

Justice Arab says bench will decide on his custody after AFIC’s medical report.

ISLAMABAD:

The special court on Friday dismissed a prosecution plea for General (retd) Pervez Musharraf’s symbolic arrest on the pretext that such a decision could only be taken after examining his medical report.

During Friday’s hearing of the high-treason trial, prosecutor Akram Sheikh told the bench that the special court did not pass appropriate orders to regulate the custody of the accused. It is the prosecution’s duty to assist the court, otherwise people will ask why ‘appropriate orders’ are not being passed despite the announcement, he told the three-judge bench.

This argument irked Justice Faisal Arab, who is leading the special bench. “We are not passing orders to annoy or make someone happy,” he replied.

Sheikh also complained that the court was not giving enough time to the prosecution, to which Justice Arab said asked whether he was calling the bench biased. The prosecutor quickly clarified that he actually wanted to inform the court that the accused could leave the country any time, which is why his symbolic custody is necessary. “I have requested you to pass Musharraf’s symbolic custody order three times before.”



“Yes, we have noted down your request and we will consider it after getting the medical report from senior doctors at the Armed Forces Institute of Cardiology (AFIC) on January 24,” Justice Arab told the prosecutor.

“Sir, I have reservations over [Thursday’s] order [of the bench] – you didn’t constitute a medical board consisting of five top cardiologists of the country but referred this matter to the AFIC instead,” Sheikh went on. The bench had stated that a medical board of AFIC’s senior doctors should inform the court about how serious Musharraf’s condition is.

However, the leading judge responded, “You can challenge the medical report [when it comes] and you can raise the objections if you are not satisfied.”

But Sheikh was persistent. “My concern is that if you don’t pass an order today regarding the custody, he will run away, as is evident from a letter from the US that was presented before the court on Thursday.”

US-based doctor Dr Arjumand Hashmi -- after reviewing Musharraf’s medical reports -- recommended that the former military ruler be immediately sent abroad for treatment.

Justice Arab categorically said the accused cannot leave the country as his name is on the Exit Control List (ECL). But the prosecutor insisted that he could leave even then.

Finally, the court dismissed his concern and adjourned the hearing till Monday.

‘Emergency order’

Earlier, Musharraf’s lawyer Anwar Mansoor told the court that the emergency rule was imposed by a group of people on the advice of then Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz, but only his client was being singled out. He also read a letter Shaukat Aziz wrote to Musharraf.

Justice Arab asked Mansoor where does Shaukat Aziz in the letter advise to impose emergency, as nothing is explicitly stated. Musharraf’s counsel explained that it is understood that a group of people decided for the emergency rule and the letter analysed the circumstances under which emergency rule was imposed on November 3, 2007.

He said the Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and former chief justice Iftikhar Chaudhry are pitted against Musharraf and the bias is apparent in this case.

At one point during the hearing, Anwar Mansoor started praising Sharifuddin Pirzada, the head of Musharraf’s legal team. “Pirzada is my mentor, he actually taught me law and I have learned a lot from him,” he told the bench. Pirzada, meanwhile, was too busy to talk to his team.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 18^th, 2014.