Out of jurisdiction: Federal govt defends travel ban on Musharraf
The bench adjourned the hearing till Wednesday.
Attorney general opposed the retired general’s plea against placement of his name on the Exit Control List. PHOTO: AFP/FILE
KARACHI:
Attorney-general Salman Butt defended the government’s move to place a travel ban on General (retd) Pervez Musharraf, saying that his presence in the country was necessary as he was facing trial against charges of high treason.
Opposing the retired general’s plea against placement of his name on the Exit Control List before the Sindh High Court (SHC) on Tuesday, he said that the SHC could not hear the petition as the matter was out of its jurisdiction.
He argued that the Supreme Court had passed an order on July 31 to place the petitioner’s name on the ECL and the same were complied with at Islamabad, where Pervez Musharraf was residing. Thus, the petition to remove his name from ECL could not be heard outside Islamabad, he said, warning that hearing this matter at any other place ‘would be a mockery of the Constitution’. Headed by Justice Muhammad Ali Mazhar, the bench adjourned the hearing till Wednesday (today) when the attorney-general would continue his arguments regarding the SHC’s jurisdiction.
Published in The Express Tribune, May 21st, 2014.
Attorney-general Salman Butt defended the government’s move to place a travel ban on General (retd) Pervez Musharraf, saying that his presence in the country was necessary as he was facing trial against charges of high treason.
Opposing the retired general’s plea against placement of his name on the Exit Control List before the Sindh High Court (SHC) on Tuesday, he said that the SHC could not hear the petition as the matter was out of its jurisdiction.
He argued that the Supreme Court had passed an order on July 31 to place the petitioner’s name on the ECL and the same were complied with at Islamabad, where Pervez Musharraf was residing. Thus, the petition to remove his name from ECL could not be heard outside Islamabad, he said, warning that hearing this matter at any other place ‘would be a mockery of the Constitution’. Headed by Justice Muhammad Ali Mazhar, the bench adjourned the hearing till Wednesday (today) when the attorney-general would continue his arguments regarding the SHC’s jurisdiction.
Published in The Express Tribune, May 21st, 2014.