SC: Unblock ID card and passport of Musharraf
islamabad — The Supreme Court (SC) on Monday ordered that national identity card (CNIC) and passport of former military dictator Pervez Musharraf be unblocked so that he could return to the country.
The order was issued after the National Database and Registration Authority (Nadra) Chairman Usman Mobin was spotted sitting in on a full-bench hearing for a separate case by Chief Justice Saqib Nisar.
When Justice Nisar asked Mobin why he was in court, the Nadra chairman — who was called to the rostrum by the CJ — said that although the SC had last week allowed Musharraf to submit his nomination papers if he returned to Pakistan for a court hearing on June 13, the former dictator would not be able to since his CNIC and passport had been blocked , reports Dawn news..
The Interior Ministry had earlier issued directives to Nadra and the Directorate General of Immigration and Passports to suspend Musharraf’s CNIC and passport in compliance with the order of a special court conducting a treason trial against the former president.
“Why would you block the card? To give him a reason to not return?” the CJ asked Mobin. “Musharraf should return and face the cases against him,” he asserted.
On Mobin’s verbal request seeking formal directives about what must be done about Musharraf’s travel and ID documents, the CJ ordered that his CNIC and passport be unblocked.
The top judge also reiterated his earlier order that the former military ruler should not be arrested on his way to court from the airport. The CJ also issued an order stating that a tribunal be formed within two days to conduct the pending treason trial against Musharraf.