Musharraf awarded death penalty

By News Desk

Special Court sentences ex-military ruler for abrogating Constitution by proclaiming emergency on Nov 3, 2007; court turns down govt’s request to include ex-CJP Abdul Hameed Dogar, ex-law minister Zahid Hamid and ex-PM Shaukat Aziz as co-conspirators

ISLAMABAD: The Special Court on Tuesday awarded capital punishment to former president Gen (retd) Pervez Musharraf in the high treason case for “abrogating and subverting the Constitution by proclamation of emergency in the country on November 3, 2007”.

A three-member bench comprising Chief Justice Peshawar High Court Justice Waqar Ahmed Seth, Sindh High Court (SHC) judge Justice Nazar Akbar and Lahore High Court judge Justice Shahid Karim announced the verdict. SHC’s Justice Akbar dissented from the judgement.

The Special Court, formed to hear the high treason case against the former president for imposing a state of emergency on November 3, 2007, had reserved its verdict in the long-running treason trial last month. The judges had been appointed on the orders of the Supreme Court.

The court, when reserving its ruling, had said it would announce its judgement on November 28. However, the Islamabad High Court (IHC) barred the bench from issuing the verdict on the said date. When the Special Court reconvened on November 28, it noted it was not bound to follow the IHC’s order. Nonetheless, the court allowed the ex-dictator one more chance to record his statement in the case by December 5. In its hearing on December 5, the Special Court announced it would issue the verdict on December 17, even if arguments of both sides were not completed by then.

Earlier on Tuesday, the government had sought to include former chief justice Abdul Hameed Dogar, former law minister Zahid Hamid and former prime minister Shaukat Aziz as co-conspirators in the case. The court, before announcing its judgement, rejected the request and directed the government’s counsel to argue the case on its merits while reminding him the Supreme Court had already ruled on the matter. The court subsequently recessed for a short while before announcing the landmark verdict. The Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) government had filed the high treason case against Musharraf over the former dictator’s imposition of an extra-constitutional emergency in November 2007. The former army chief was indicted in the case in March 2014 after he appeared before the court. He had rejected all the charges.

On March 18, 2016, the former president had left Pakistan for Dubai for medical treatment after his name was removed from the Exit Control List on the orders of the Supreme Court.

A few months later, the special court declared him a proclaimed offender and ordered the confiscation of his property owing to his continuous inability to appear. Later, his passport and identity card were also cancelled on the orders of the apex court.

The head of the prosecution appointed by the PML-N, Mohammad Akram Sheikh, had last year tendered his resignation.

In his resignation letter, sent to the interior secretary, Sheikh had expressed his inability to proceed with the case considering the change of government at the centre.