A special court on Tuesday postponed for a week the trial of former military ruler Pervez Musharraf in a treason case as he failed to appear before it because of “serious threat to his life”.
Scheduling the next hearing for January 1 for indictment of the former president, the court ordered him to appear in person and directed the authorities concerned to provide him necessary security.
At the outset of the proceedings held amid tight security at the National Library building in the capital, Musharraf’s legal team told the court that police had found explosives and detonators from the route of Musharraf’s farmhouse to the court.
A bomb was recovered near Musharraf’s residence minutes before he was to appear before the special court in the treason case.
The bomb disposal squad arrived at the scene, nearly 1 kilometer from Chak Shehzad farmhouse of the former president, and diffused the bomb which was planted on the route of Musharraf’s convoy.
According to Rangers sources, a five kilogram bomb and two pistols were found in a bag along the road near National Institute of Health.
The federal government had invoked the Article 6 of the Constitution against Musharraf under which abrogation or suspension of the constitution amounts to high treason and the offence is punishable with death or life imprisonment.
Musharraf, who returned to the homeland in March after about four years in self-imposed exile and is on bail in several criminal cases, is the first military dictator to face trial for treason that he denies being politically motivated.
His lawyers submitted to the three-member special court a petition raising objections regarding the court’s powers as well as its judges.
The court is headed by Justice Faisal Arab of the Sindh High Court and includes Justice Yawar Ali of the Lahore High Court and Justice Tahira Safdar of the Balochistan High Court.
The petition alleges that the special court had been set up through collusion between Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and former chief justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry for “persecution” rather than prosecution.
On Monday, the Islamabad High Court dismissed Musharraf’s petitions against the composition of the special court and selection of prosecutor in the case.
In another development, the Supreme Court registrar reportedly returned with technical objections a petition filed by Musharraf, requesting the apex court to review its July 31, 2009 landmark verdict declaring his November 3, 2007 actions illegal and unconstitutional.
In the review petition, Musharraf accepted direct responsibility for the imposition of emergency but claimed it was only done upon receiving advice that security of the country had been imperiled by some actions of the then chief justice Iftikhar Chaudhry and some other members of the superior judiciary.
He argued that the then prime minister Shaukat Aziz, now living abroad, had recommended taking extra-constitutional measures of proclaiming the emergency.
ATC ORDERS MUSHARRAF TO APPEAR ON FEB 3: An anti-terrorism court (ATC) of Balochistan Tuesday issued directives to former president Pervez Musharraf to appear before the bench hearing the murder case of Baloch nationalist leader, Nawab Akbar Bugti on February 3.
The hearing of the Akbar Bugti murder case was held in a special ATC and was attended by former federal interior minister Aftab Sherpao and Balochistan ex-home minister Shoaib Nosherwani.
Talking to media persons after the hearing, Nawabzada Jamil Bugti’s lawyer said there were no grounds for the case to be prolonged and it should be decided soon.
Baloch nationalist leader Nawab Akbar Khan Bugti was killed when a cave came down on Aug 26, 2006, during a military operation.
On Nov 26, former prime minister Shaukat Aziz, Balochistan former governor Owais Ahmed Ghani, former district coordination officer (DCO) Abdul Samad Lasi, all of whom were also nominated in the murder of the Baloch leader, were declared fugitives by the ATC. The co-accused are still at large.