Much-awaited appearance: Musharraf returns to the dock

Special court defers indictment until jurisdiction is decided.

ISLAMABAD:

The 23rd hearing of the historic high treason case against General (retd) Pervez Musharraf reached a crescendo when the high-profile accused made his much-anticipated maiden appearance in the special court constituted to try him under Article 6 for allegedly subverting the Constitution.

At the outset of the hearing on Tuesday, the three-judge bench, led by Justice Faisal Arab, was told by defence lawyer Anwar Mansoor that the accused will appear in court.

As the accused took three hours to honour his counsel’s promise, prosecution team member Tariq Hassan made a sarcastic comment: “It seems Prince Khalid is coming today, as we have all been waiting for him for long hours.”

Justice Arab explained that the delay was a result of security checks outside the special court, where nearly 1,200 security officials were deployed. To this, Hassan suggested temporary custody warrants for bringing the accused in court.

“We will resume the hearing after 30 minutes and then pass an appropriate order,” the court announced before retiring at 12.30pm.

When the court reconvened at 1:10pm, Musharraf was present inside the National Library. Seated to the left of the bench, in front of his defence team, he stood when the court enquired about him and saluted the judges.

After hearing arguments from the defence and prosecution teams, the court dictated its written order. “We are conscious of our orders but we are inclined to first decide on jurisdiction — in the case that we decide that this case comes in our jurisdiction, we can recall the accused.”

The court set Friday, February 21, as the day when it will give a decision in this regard, as well as hear petitions from the defence team. It has sought comments from both sides about further proceedings.

Justice Arab said, “We have a proposition to read out charges and suspend further process until the court decides its jurisdiction.”

However, prosecutor Akram Sheikh opposed the notion, saying that the only option before the court is to frame charges in the presence of the accused, as per the court’s previous written orders in the case.

Anwar Mansoor told the court that since the court has yet to decide on the jurisdiction issue, the framing of charges will not be an appropriate step.

“You have categorically said that until the jurisdiction issue is decided, charges cannot be framed,” Mansoor said. “Musharraf can come back to face charges,” he added.

Sheikh referred to the court’s December 24 and January 10 orders in which it stated that charges will be framed upon the appearance of the accused.

The accused was present in the court along with Major-General (retd) Rashid Qureshi, who is acting as his surety. Qureshi offered an assurance that he would ensure the appearance of the accused.

Confusion reigns at AFIC

Before the accused arrived at about 12:00 pm, defence lawyer Anwar Mansoor informed the court that he had received instructions that Musharraf is in a vehicle at the Armed Forces Institute of Cardiology (AFIC) but that a senior superintendent of police (SSP) is not giving security to his convoy.

The lawyer requested that the court direct the official to provide the security. Prosecutor Akram Sheikh said that Musharraf is a free man and can come as he is not in custody.

Justice Arab observed that there are security concerns with regard to Musharraf and directed an interior ministry official present in the National Library to look into the matter.

 

Published in The Express Tribune, February 19^th, 2014.