ISLAMABAD: A special court in Islamabad on Tuesday reserved its verdict in a high treason case against former president Pervez Musharraf for abrogating and subverting the constitution by proclaiming emergency in Nov 2007.
As a three-member bench led by Peshawar High Court Chief Justice Waqar Ahmad Seth resumed the hearing, the court was told that the former president’s lawyer was absent on account of Umrah.
Following this, Justice Seth said that the former president’s lawyer had been given a third chance to submit his arguments, but still he chose to skip the court.
However, the court took a short break and later announced that a verdict in the case has been reserved and will be announced on Tuesday, Nov 26. Additionally, the court said that Musharraf’s counsel could submit written arguments by Nov 26.
The interior secretary was also presented in the court after he was summoned by the court in its last hearing.
Addressing the secretary, Justice Seth whether the court’s permission had been sought before removing the prosecution team. To which, Deputy Attorney General Sajid Ilyas Bhatti said that head of the prosecution Akram Sheikh had tendered his resignation following the change in government.
However, the bench admonished the deputy attorney general and said the question was directed at the interior secretary and that the prosecution had nothing to do with the case.
The bench then removed the deputy attorney general from the rostrum. Justice Seth said that the prosecution team had submitted their written arguments which were enough for the court.
On October 24, the court was informed that the government had sacked the entire prosecution team engaged by the previous Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz government to prosecute the high treason case against Musharraf.
Musharraf was indicted on March 31, 2014, and the prosecution had tabled the entire evidence before the special court in September the same year.
However, due to litigation at appellate forums, the trial of the former military dictator lingered on and he left Pakistan in March 2016 and has been an absconder ever since.
In September this year, a special court bench had decided to conduct the trial on a daily basis from October 8 to conclude the case.