- Special court turns down former military ruler’s plea seeking transfer of high treason trial to army court
- Summons former army chief in court on March 11
- Musharraf’s lawyer accuses judges of ‘acting like killers for hire’
Former general Pervez Musharraf’s efforts to stymie his trial on treason charges suffered a setback on Friday when the special court dismissed the former military ruler’s petition to transfer his case to a military court, and summoned him to appear before it on March 11.
Musharraf’s lawyers had objected to the formation of the three-judge special court, saying the 70-year-old former army chief could only be tried by a military court under the Army Act.
The special court asserted it has the mandate to try Gen (r) Musharraf and set the next hearing for March 4.
“This application is dismissed,” said Justice Faisal Arab, the head of the three-judge bench.
The bench ruled Musharraf was no longer in the army and can be tried by the special court. The former president had filed three applications that challenged the appointment of the government prosecutor as well as the establishment and jurisdiction of the special court.
He is the first military ruler to be charged with high treason charges for suspending the constitution, imposing an emergency and detaining judges of superior courts in 2007. If convicted, he could face life imprisonment or the death penalty.
Ahmed Raza Kasuri, a key member of Musharraf’s legal team, claimed the court’s order was factually wrong because he was the army chief when he signed the proclamation declaring emergency.“He had signed the order as the army chief and not as president. The judges should have recused themselves as they are biased against Musharraf. They were dismissed by Musharraf and held agitations against him,” Kasuri told reporters outside the special court.
He claimed that facts and laws were “twisted” in this case.
Khalid Ranjha, another lawyer representing Musharraf, accused the judges of acting like “rented killers” when the judgement was read out.
Justice Arab took exception to the remark, but Ranjha said he would not retract the statement even if it meant going to prison.
Justice Arab told Ranjha that he could file an appeal against the decision but should refrain from insulting the bench. “If you like to go outside the courtroom and say whatever you want before the media,” he said.
Though Musharraf appeared in court during the last hearing, it could not carry forward the proceedings as his lawyers had asked the court to first decide on their petitions challenging its mandate.
After skipping all previous hearings of the treason trial, the general appeared for the first time in the special court on February 18.
Musharraf admitted to a military hospital in Rawalpindi on January 2 after he developed heart problems. He is at the Armed Forces Institute of Cardiology since then.
hahaha; Musherraf was a Commando; why he is getting Pale.???
Musherraf Lawyer Raza Kasuri's Father Gave a Death Penality to Bagth Singh .
petty judges and petty editor for the choice and wording of the headline
Lawyer Raza Kasuri is complete Paindoo who is spoiling his case by indulging unnecessary Army as such Musharraf is still chief of Army
The judiciary is absolutely biased & it's judges are rented killers in this case…..Musharaf has proved his worth & stood like a rock & managed to pull Pakistan out of serious trouble after 9/11…but these corrupt & sick minded pakis will not spare even Musharaf the great….we have never seen an upright & strong leader like Musharaf ever produced in Pakistan
Kashmiris will never ever forget people like Musharaf for his bravery,honesty,mental strength & the will to find a solution to resolve issues especially the kashmir issue…he never succumbed to pressure from outside to compromise on an issue for his self interests…he will be remembered as a hero in our part of world unlike people like nawaz sharif or benazir bhutoo who always proved rotten eggs….
Musharaf was a junior officer he came to power with the support of U.S and subsequently supported U.S in their criminal activities in Pakistan and Afghanistan. Let us all remove the myth about Musharaf as if he was brave or a good soldier, he was a coward to the core and not a core commander, this coward supposedly the defender of Pakistan and Pakistanis sold innocent Pakistani to his Allah the United States of America, and in my opinion any like minded of Musharaf and supporter cannot call themselves muslim for muslim stand for justice and not any individual reguardless of their position.
noray MC di bebbey nu khootay d
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