Senior lawyer and central leader of the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Senator Aitzaz Ahsan said on Thursday that there the former president Pervez Musharraf who is facing treason charges, should have an open trial.
Talking to media outside Supreme Court ‚ he said that the case would not be concluded quickly since prosecutors have enough evidence against Musharraf who also heads his party – All Pakistan Muslim League (APML).
Ahsan claimed that Musharraf’s trial is impossible before the outgoing Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani’s retirement. The army chief will retire on Nov 29.
The government has constituted a three-member special court to try the former army chief for treason. Justice Faisal Arab, Justice Tahira Safdar and Justice Yawar Ali have been named as judges for the court.
Ahsan said that there should be an open trial, saying that Musharraf suspended the Constitution to impose state of emergency in 2007.
He further added that Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry would not be a serving judge at the time of this trial, and in his opinion, this trial won’t end soon.
Responding to a question, he said Musharraf used the word ‘I’ in several decisions, including the time he imposed emergency, therefore, there was no justification for Army to react (to this trial).
On Wednesday, Attorney General Munir A.Malik said in his media talk in Islamabad that treason in Pakistan is punishable with death penalty or life imprisonment, however, the president of Pakistan is authorized to pardon the convict.