Musharraf death penalty annulled
lahore — A Pakistani high court on Monday revoked a guilty verdict and death sentence handed down to former military ruler Pervez Musharraf for treason, declaring that the formation of a special court that sentenced him was unconstitutional, a government law officer said.
Musharraf was sentenced to death in absentia by a special court in December on charges stemming from his imposition of a state of emergency in 2007. The head of a three-judge panel ruled that his corpse should hang for three days if the general died before his execution.
Musharraf had challenged the formation of the court for the sole purpose of trying him for treason.
The Lahore High Court “has declared everything from the initiation of the complaint and its conclusion unconstitutional,” Additional Attorney-General of
Ishtiaq A. Khan
Additional Attorney-General of Pakistan
Pakistan Ishtiaq A. Khan, who represented the government in the case told Reuters.
Musharraf ’s lawyer also said the sentence had been revoked. “Lahore High Court has nullified the decision about Pervez Musharraf,” Azhar Siddique said.
Musharraf, 76, who seized power in a 1999 coup and ruled as president until 2008, is currently receiving medical treatment in Dubai. He is the first former army chief to have been charged with treason in Pakistan and has said the powerful military helped him get out of the country.
The final years of his rule were marked by struggles with the judiciary over his wish to remain head of the army while president. He quit in 2008, after a political party that backed him fared poorly in national elections. —
The Lahore High Court has declared everything from the initiation of the complaint and its conclusion unconstitutional
lahore — A Pakistan court on Monday annulled the death sentence handed to former military ruler Pervez Musharraf, ruling that the special court which had found him guilty of treason last year was unconstitutional, a government prosecutor said.
The original ruling had marked the first time a former leader of the armed forces had faced such a sentence for treason in Pakistan.
It caused a wave of controversy, with Musharraf slamming it as a “vendetta” and the military expressing its disappointment.
A High Court in the eastern city of Lahore ruled it “illegal” on Monday.
“The filing of the complaint, the constitution of the court, the selection of the prosecution team are illegal, declared to be illegal... And at the end of the day the full judgement has been set aside,” the prosecutor representing the government, Ishtiaq A. Khan, said.
“Yes, he is a free man. Right now there is no judgment against him any longer,” Khan added.
Musharraf ’s lawyer, Azhar Siddique, also told media outside the court in Lahore that it has “nullified everything”.
The prosecution now has the option to file a new case against Musharraf with the approval of the federal Cabinet.
The treason trial — which began in 2013 and is just one of several involving Musharraf — centred on his decision to suspend the constitution and impose emergency rule in 2007.
Musharraf first took power after ousting prime minister Nawaz Sharif in a bloodless coup in 1999.
The general became a key US ally in the “war on terror” after the September 11 attacks and escaped at least three Al Qaeda assassination attempts during his nine years in office.
His rule faced no serious challenges until he tried to sack the Supreme Court chief justice in March 2007, sparking nationwide protests and months of turmoil that led to the imposition of emergency rule.
After the December 2007 assassination of former prime minister Benazir Bhutto, the national mood plunged further and Musharraf
was left increasingly isolated by the crushing losses suffered by his allies in February 2008 elections.
He finally resigned in August 2008 in the face of impeachment proceedings by the new governing coalition and went into exile.
Musharraf returned to Pakistan in 2013 in an attempt to contest elections, but was barred from taking part in the polls and from leaving the country as a barrage of legal cases mounted.
The travel ban against him was finally lifted in 2016, and he travelled to Dubai for medical treatment, where he has been ever since.
The treason case against him was first launched by his old foe Sharif in 2013.
It went on for years with repeated delays until last year’s surprise announcement. —
If the situation is such that the government imposes an emergency, will a treason case be filed against that government as well? Can an emergency be imposed under Article 232? Then how is it a deviation from the Constitution?
Justice Mazahar Ali Akbar Naqvi
A judge of three-member bench
The filing of the complaint, the constitution of the court, the selection of the prosecution team are illegal, declared to be illegal... And at the end of the day the full judgement has been set aside
Ishtiaq A. Khan
Prosecutor representing the govt