The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Monday issued a notice to Attorney General of Pakistan (AGP) and has asked for his opinion on December 12 regarding a petition filed by former minister Zahid Hamid against a special court order terming him ‘abettor’ in the Musharraf treason case.
The bench headed by Justice Athar Minallah resumed the hearing over a petition filed by the former minister for science and technology and also upheld the objections which were put on Hamid’s petition by the Islamabad High Court registrar.
Giving his remarks, Justice Minallah said the powers of the special court were equal to that of high court. He added that the interim order of a special court could not be challenged in a high court.
The court sought the opinion of AGP Salman Aslam Butt on whether the petition submitted by Zahid Hamid was admissible or not and adjourned the next hearing until December 12.
Zahid Hamid has challenged a special court verdict that ordered the government to include him as one of the abettors in the treason case against former military ruler Pervez Musharraf.
In his petition before the Islamabad High Court, Hamid – who was the law minister in Musharraf’s cabinet when the former military ruler imposed a state of emergency on November 3, 2007 – not only distanced himself from the act itself, but also insisted on a ‘solo trial’ for his former boss.
Hamid had resigned from his cabinet position when the special court ordered he be tried as an abettor, on Nov 21. The order also implicated former prime minister Shaukat Aziz and former chief justice Abdul Hameed Dogar.
A petition filed through his counsel, Khawaja Haris Ahmed, has been placed before the IHC. But the registrar’s office has raised certain objections on the petition, arguing that the high court lacks jurisdiction to hear this matter. However, the petition has been fixed before Justice Athar Minallah as an ‘objection case’.
