Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Tuesday stayed the verdict issued by a special court on November 21 and restrained the court from hearing treason case against former president General Pervez Musharraf (Retd). The special court in its verdict directed the government to include the names of three senior ex-functionaries - former Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz, ex-federal minister Zahid Hamid and former chief justice Abdul Hameed Dogar - as co-accused in the treason case against former president Pervez Musharraf.
A single-member bench headed by Justice Athar Minallah resumed the hearing of identical petitions filed by former prime minister Shaukat Aziz, former Chief Justice Abdul Hameed Dogar, former law minister Zahid Hamid and former president District Bar Association Rawalpindi, advocate Taufiq Asif, challenging the verdict issued by a special court on November 21, while hearing a treason case against former president General Pervez Musharraf (Retd).
During proceedings, Wasim Sajjad, the counsel for former prime minister Shaukat Aziz, Khawaja Haris Ahmed, the counsel for Zahid Hamid, Iftikhar Gillani, the counsel for Abdul Hameed Dogar, and Taufiq Asif pleaded before the bench that the application filed by former president Musharraf in the special court was based on assumptions, without solid evidence on record, which proved some other person had collaborated, aided or abetted Musharraf in imposing the emergency in 2007.
They further maintained that the accused has no right to ask for a joint trial with co-accused, as it is only the right of the prosecution to decide whom to prosecute under Section 342 of the Criminal Procedure Code. Special court has assumed a suo motu jurisdiction, which is not conferred on it, by adding the name of petitioners as co-accused, they said, adding that the order of special court is against the spirit of Article 10-A of the Constitution. They contented that their clients have been made co-accused in the treason case by the special court without issuing notices and investigating them.
They pleaded the court to restrain special court from hearing the treason case against Musharraf, till the final decision of the bench. Upon which, Justice Athar Minallah issued stay order against the special court's verdict November 21 and restrained it from hearing treason case against Musharraf.
Later, the court announced that it would conduct day-to-day hearing of the case from next date of hearing and adjourned the matter till February 3. Earlier, Justice Athar Minallah had rejected the federal government's plea for constitution of larger bench to hear the case and remarked that a single member bench has the power and authority to hear the matter. The court remarked that it would review Special Court Act, 1976 before reaching any decision in view of the sensitivity of the matter.
It is pertinent to mention that the IHC registrar's office had raised objections over all writ petitions, arguing that the court could not hear any petition filed against the special court proceedings and the proper appellate forum for such a petition was the Supreme Court.