The Supreme Court of Pakistan (SC) on Friday decided to hear an appeal by now-deceased former military ruler Pervez Musharraf against the special court majority judgment that awarded him a death sentence on treason charges.
A four-member larger bench headed by Chief Justice of Pakistan Qazi Faiz Isa heard an appeal against a decision to dissolve the special court that was previously hearing the Musharraf treason case.
The bench entertained different bars and lawyers’ petitions against the Lahore High Court’s (LHC) judgment wherein Musharraf’s trial was declared void.
The court inquired why the appeal had not been fixed for a hearing for the past four years, and lamented that it is “unfortunate that despite one judge’s order in the chamber, the appeal was not fixed for the last four years”.
“If we are not accountable to our system, then how will we be accountable to others,” said the CJ.
Advocate Salman Safdar, Musharaf’s counsel, stated that in February 2020, Justice Umar Ata Bandial had ordered the office to fix Musharraf’s appeal against the Registrar’s objections before the larger bench but the case was not listed for the last four years.
The counsel stated that the appeal is continuity of trial and this should have been heard.
Subsequently, the hearing of the case was adjourned till November 21.
The charges against Musharraf – who was sentenced in absentia by the special court – stemmed from his imposition of a state of emergency in 2007, after which dozens of judges were placed under house arrest or sacked, sparking widespread street protests by lawyers.
