This story is from December 18, 2019

Pak court sentences Pervez Musharraf to death in high treason case, military reacts angrily

A special court in Islamabad trying former military ruler General Pervez Musharraf for high reason over his imposition of emergency rule in the country in November 2007 sentenced him on Tuesday, in absentia, to death under Article 6 of Pakistan’s constitution. Currently in Dubai, he is the first military ruler of Pakistan to be tried and convicted for overruling the constitution.
Pak court sentences Pervez Musharraf to death in high treason case, military reacts angrily
File photo of former military ruler General Pervez Musharraf
ISLAMABAD: A special court in Islamabad trying former military ruler General Pervez Musharraf for high reason over his imposition of emergency rule in the country in November 2007 sentenced him on Tuesday, in absentia, to death under Article 6 of Pakistan’s constitution.
Gen Musharraf (76), currently in Dubai undergoing medical treatment, is the first military ruler of Pakistan to be tried and convicted for overruling the constitution.
Three other generals — Ayub Khan, Yahya Khan (who took over from Ayub Khan) and Zia-ul-Haq — had also subverted the constitution and taken power; none faced trial. The military has ruled Pakistan for roughly half of its 72-year existence.
Pakistan’s army reacted strongly to the verdict, saying the “decision given by the special court has been received with a lot of pain and anguish by the rank and file of the Pakistan armed forces”. Inter-Services Public Relations, the Pakistan army’s media arm, issued a statement after sources said a meeting of the top military leadership was underway at General HQ in Rawalpindi in the wake of the verdict. “An ex-army chief, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee and president of Pakistan, who has served the country for over 40 years, fought wars for the defence of the country, can surely never be a traitor,” said the army’s spokesman, Maj Gen Asif Ghafoor.
“Due legal process seems to have been ignored, including (in) the constitution of a special court, denial of the fundamental right of self-defence, undertaking individual specific proceedings and concluding the case in haste,” Gen Ghafoor said. “The armed forces of Pakistan expect that justice will be dispensed in line with the constitution of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan,” he added.
Earlier, government law officer Salman Nadeem said, “Pervez Musharraf has been found guilty under Article 6 for violation of the constitution of Pakistan.” Article 6 says “any person who abrogates or subverts or suspends or holds in abeyance, or attempts or conspires to abrogate or subvert or suspend or hold in abeyance, the Constitution by use of force or show of force or by any other unconstitutional means shall be guilty of high treason”. The punishment for high treason, according to the
High Treason (Punishment) Act, 1973, is death or imprisonment for one’s lifetime.
The 2-1 majority verdict was announced by a special court bench headed by Peshawar high court Chief Justice Waqar Ahmad Seth and comprising Justice Nazar Akbar of the Sind HC and Justice Shahid Karim of the Lahore HC. Justice Akbar of the Sind HC had dissented from the verdict. A detailed verdict will be issued within the next two days.
The former military ruler is currently in Dubai. His team can appeal against the verdict in the Supreme Court within 30 days but some legal experts believe that it is necessary for a convict to appear in person in court to file an appeal. If the top court upholds the special court’s verdict, Musharraf has the right to appeal to the president, who has the constitutional authority under Article 45 of the constitution to pardon a person on death row.
While Musharraf had first imposed a state of emergency in the country in 1999 after toppling the elected government of then Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, he was tried for high treason for his actions of November 2007. On November 3, he had imposed emergency for the second time, suspending the constitution and detaining politicians and judges of the superior courts. By mid-December, he ended the state of emergency after introducing legislation to protect some of the actions he had taken during that time.
The case against Musharraf had been pending since 2013. He was booked in the treason case in December 2013 by the previous Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) government. In March 2014, he was indicted during his appearance in the court. He had pleaded not guilty.
Due to litigation at different appellate forums, Musharraf’s trial lingered and he left Pakistan in 2016 for medical treatment, promising to return to Pakistan within a few weeks. During the course of the case, the special court was reformed six times. The special court had reserved its judgment last month, saying that it would announce the verdict on November 28.
Meanwhile, the incumbent Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) government had come to Musharraf’s rescue and filed a petition in the Islamabad HC seeking deferment of the announcement of the verdict. On November 27, the Islamabad HC had stopped the special court from issuing its verdict and directed the government to constitute a new prosecution team.
When the special court reconvened on November 28, it had noted that it was not bound to follow the Islamabad HC’s orders but allowed the former military dictator one more chance to record his statement in the case by December 5. On December 5, the special court had announced that it would issue the verdict on December 17 even if both sides had not completed their arguments.
Earlier on Tuesday the government had sought to include former Chief Justice Abdul Hameed Dogar, former law minister Zahid Hamid and former Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz as co-conspirators in the case.
The court, however, rejected the request, saying that the apex court has already ruled on the matter and announced its verdict.
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