Musharraf verdict: Pakistan Bar Council terms DG ISPR’s statement ‘contempt of court’

• The council said that the attitude by the federal govt ‘confirms that party in power has been installed by the army’.
• Council disapproved 'insulting attitude of army official as well as government functionaries towards judiciary and constitutional process of dispension of justice.

Condemning the statements of Director General Inter-Services Public Relations (DG ISPR) Major General Asif Ghaforr, the Pakistan Bar Council (PBC) has said that the statement is a clear cut violation of the legal provisions and amounts to contempt of court.

In a press release, the PBC has disapproved the 'insulting attitude of the army official as well as the government functionaries towards judiciary and the constitutional process of dispension of justice'. In the statement, the council said that if the DG ISPR found some flaws in the judgment of the special court in the treason case against Pervez Musharraf, then the law has provided procedure and proper course for agitating such flaws.

“But the manner and the way, in which, the judgement of the special court has been criticised by an official of the army clearly gives an impression that all the institutions in Pakistan are subservient to the armed forces, to follow its dictation and there is no respect for any other forum including the judiciary,” said the statement jointly issued by the council’s vice chairman Syed Amjad Shah and chairman of its executive committee Sher Mohammad Khan.

The council further said that the legal fraternity is of the view that the attitude by the federal government, its ministers, law officers and specially the attorney general for Pakistan ‘also confirms that the party in power has been installed by the army and its institution is on the driving seat’.

The DG ISPR in a presser on Thursday deemed the detailed judgement in the high treason case against Musharraf to be against 'humanity and religion'. He continued that after the detailed judgement, the military's reservations are proving to be true.

He added that Pakistan Army is an organized institution and will not let anyone create rifts among state institutions.