Law minister skips questions about Mush high treason case

ISLAMABAD: Federal Minister for Law and Justice Barrister Farogh Nasim on Thursday repeatedly skipped questions relating to the pending high treason case against former president Pervez Musharaf whom he represented as his lead counsel.

In a first maiden meeting with the beat reporters, after assuming the charge of the ministry, the reporters confronted him that he was a lead counsel of Musharaf in the high treason case for imposing emergency rule on 3rd of November, 2007.

The law minister, however, said that he has expressly said to the ministry that as he represented Pervez Musharaf in the treason case, therefore, he will refrain from commenting on the matter adding that in the instant matter, the complainant is not Ministry of Law but the Ministry of Interior.

“It is my moral obligation that being a law minister, I should not comment on the case,” Farogh Nasim said. Elaborating this, he said that as a judge recuses from sitting on a bench hearing a case in which earlier, he was either a party or a lawyer, he will also respect the same moral obligation as well.

It is pertinent to mention here that both Farogh Nasim and Anwar Mansoor Khan were the lead counsel in the high treason case, representing the accused former president Pervez Musharf .

After coming into power, the PTI government inducted Fargoh Nasim as federal minister for law while Anwar Mansoor Khan was nominated for the slot of attorney general for Pakistan, the highest constitutional post under Article 100 of the Constitution, with the mandate to give advice to the federal government upon legal matters.

The federal government on Thursday night issued notification regarding appointment of Anwar Mansoor Khan as new attorney general for Pakistan. Earlier, the caretaker government had appointed Khalid Javed as AG.

“In exercise of powers conferred by Article 100(1) of the constitution, the president of Pakistan has been pleased to appoint Anwar Mansoor Khan as attorney general for Pakistan with the rank and status of federal minister with immediate effect, says the notification, issued by the Ministry of Law and Justice.

It is pertinent to mention here that Muhamamd Akram Sheikh, head of the prosecution team in the high treason case against former military dictator General (R) Pervez Musharaf the other day sought permission from the special court for withdrawal from the prosecution.

He filed an application with the special court and had submitted that he had rendered appearance in this case with utmost dedication and mindful of the implications that it is not only a case of first impression but also entails risk to one’s personal security, professional practice, risk and threat of security to the family.

“He was disillusioned to see that post elections and a new federal government has come into existence, and the new Minister of Law & Justice is the former learned senior counsel of the accused and another former learned senior counsel of the accused has been appointed as Attorney General of Pakistan,” Sheikh had submitted.