PESHAWAR: A larger bench of Peshawar High Court (PHC) on April 30 imposed lifetime ban on former President General (retd) Pervez Musharraf from contesting the elections.
Meanwhile, the Anti-Terrorist Court (ATC) No-1, Rawalpindi, put Musharraf on a 14-day judicial remand till May 14 in the murder case of former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto.
A four-member bench of the PHC, comprising Chief Justice Dost Muhammad Khan, Justice Malik Manzoor Hussain, Justice Syed Afsar Shah and Justice Ikramullah Khan, not only dismissed Musharraf’s appeals against the decision of an Appellate Election Tribunal declaring him as disqualified from contesting election on NA-32 in Chitral of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, but also imposed a lifetime ban on him from contesting elections for the seats of national and provincial assemblies and the Senate.
“We are of the considered view that a person (Musharraf), who had got not a little respect from the whole judiciary and just now how he can pass through small campus of articles 62 and 63 of the Constitution. He appointed the successor judges after November 3, 2007 without looking for eligibility criteria to fill up the gap to get favourable judgment for its own cause, in which he successfully got judgment in his favour to contest the presidential election,” said the larger bench’s judgment.
The bench termed the Appellate Election Tribunal’s verdict good enough to declare the decision of returning officer, Chitral, for accepting nomination papers of Musharraf as null and void. It dismissed all the petitions filed by Musharraf against the election tribunal’s decision.
In its judgment, the bench stated: “It is high time if the nation wished to survive as an independent nation, we should bury the doctrine of necessity once and for all whether it is superior judiciary or parliament. So far much safety wall has been provided in judges’ oath and code of conduct.”
“Much has to be added in Article 6 sub-clause 2 (for high treason charges) of Constitution of Pakistan through amendments by elected parliament and the ambiguous phrases and words have to be clarified,” it stated.
“If parliament failed to amend the above-mentioned article, then interpretation placed by this court shall prevail and apply on each dictator, parliament, judiciary and executive if in future they trampled the Constitution,” it added.
Musharraf’s lawyer Ahmad Raza Kasuri submitted that the July 31, 2009 Supreme Court decision was not binding dicta against his client as he was not made a party to the petition. He added that rather the apex court had made observations in the verdict beyond parameters and prayers made in the petition and thus disqualifying Musharraf on the basis of judgment was wrong and against the law.
The PHC judgment said that the court not only heard the counsel for the petitioner for a long time, but also gave him a chance to explain his position on the apex court’s judgment.
“The dictators usurp powers in the country unconstitutionally, destroy every institution or subjugate them ruthlessly in this country. In the case of Musharraf, as dictator he trampled the Constitution twice under heavy boots, caring little for the sacred institution of judiciary. He with the dirty advice of advisers gave name to the self-proclaimed martial law as emergency-plus and right from the Supreme Court Chief Justice of Pakistan to the 50 judges of superior judiciary were put under house arrest along with many of their kids and womenfolk,” the bench stated.
It added that was a single instance of a dictator doing such a detestable act and it could hardly be quoted in history.Former President General (retd) Pervez Musharraf on Tuesday filed post-arrest bail application with the Anti-Terrorist Court (ATC) No-1, Rawalpindi, in the Benazir Bhutto murder case. Judge Chaudhry Habib-ur-Rehman issued notices to the FIA for May 3 to start hearing on the application filed by Barrister Salman Safdar. The court also allowed the Quetta police to start the Akbar Bugti murder case investigation at Musharraf’s Chak Shahzad Farmhouse, Islamabad, which has been declared a sub-jail.
The orders were issued following the 14-day judicial remand, to give the investigators time to work on the case. The regular hearing will begin on May 3.The FIA has recorded the statement of former Interior Minister Rehman Malik in the Benazir murder case. In his statement, Malik said Pervez Musharraf had failed to provide foolproof security to Benazir Bhutto.“I had written several letters to Musharraf to inform him about the security threats to Benazir Bhutto, but he did not consider the matter seriously,” he claimed.
Talking to media persons outside the courtroom, FIA Special Prosecutor Chaudhry Zulfiqar said they had completed the investigations and requested the court to send Musharraf on judicial remand. He said Musharraf was not produced in the ATC because of high security risk.
He said during the physical remand, Musharraf recorded his statement, shifting responsibility to former interior minister Rehman Malik. “We have strong evidences against Musharraf in Benazir murder case, but he is trying to avoid his guilt by shifting his fault to others,” he added.
Zulfiqar also said they had already recorded the statements of Pervaiz Elahi and former interior minister Rehman Malik. “We have recorded a fresh statement of Rehman Malik as well,” he claimed. APML General Secretary Dr Amjad Hussain told media persons that Musharraf faced high security risk and hence he did not appear in the ATC.
“We will face the courts at all costs and by the grace of Allah, Musharraf will get bail in all the cases, including the Benazir murder case,” he said.Salman Safdar expressed the hope that he would be able to secure bail for his client in the Benazir murder case on May 3.
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