–Legal counsel to confirm if former dictator would appear on Skype during next hearing on Monday
ISLAMABAD: A three-member special court hearing the high treason case against former military strongman General (r) Pervez Musharraf on Tuesday said it was important that his statement is recorded in the case.
The treason case concerns the suspension of the constitution in November 2007 for which the former dictator was indicted in March, 2014. He left the country in March 2016 for medical treatment and is currently residing in the UAE.
Musharraf’s legal representative agreed that recording his statement was important and asked the bench to consider recording it on Skype. However, he added that he would inquire from Musharraf if he agreed to the idea.
“Can a 342 statement [statement of the accused] be recorded over Skype?” Justice Ali asked.
“The court had recorded Mark Siegel’s testimony in the Benazir Bhutto murder case on Skype,” said the lawyer.
“It is not that the defendant does not wish to appear in court, it is that he is unable to be here because of his health,” he added.
In response, Justice Yawar Ali said that “Musharraf had assured us that he would return”. Musharraf’s counsel explained that the former president is not returning at this point.
“The law will take due course if he does not return,” the court warned the prosecutor.
The prosecutor, Advocate Naseeruddin Nayyar, on the other hand, warned that Musharraf’s presence in court is vital. He said that Musharraf is an absconder and should surrender to the court, and that his statement could not be recorded until that happens.
The hearing was later adjourned till Monday with Musharraf’s legal representative directed to inform the court if the former military dictator would be willing to record his statement on Skype.
Musharraf, who is on the run after a treason case was registered against him, has time and again refused to return to the country to face cases pending against him in various courts.
According to reports, the decision to resume the case pertaining to imposition of extra-constitutional emergency in the country in 2007 was decided in a meeting held on August 1 between three members of the bench namely; Lahore High Court Justice Yawar Ali, Balochistan High Court’s Justice Tahira Safdar and Sindh High Court’s Nazar Akbar.
