Musharraf treason case verdict to be announced on Dec 17: Special Court

Islamabad: On Thursday, the special court in Islamabad said that it would announce the verdict of the high treason case against the former president General Pervaiz Musharraf on December 17^th.

This was announced by the special court after hearing the arguments of the PTI led federal government’s new prosecution team.

It is pertinent to mention that on November 27^th, The Islamabad High Court (IHC) had stopped the special court from giving verdict it had reserved earlier in the high treason case.

According to Dawn, the high court had additionally directed the government to notify a prosecution team by December 5^th.

The special court was informed on October 24^ththat the PTI led government had sacked the entire prosecution team engaged by the previous government of PML-N to prosecute the high treason case against the former president.

On October 24, the special court was informed that the government had sacked the entire prosecution team engaged by the previous PML-N government to prosecute the high treason case against Musharraf.

According to details, Justice Waqar Ahmad Seth, Chief Justice of the Peshawar High Court headed a three-member bench of the special court as a new prosecution team for the government appeared before the court during Thursday’s proceedings.

“I (Ali Zia Bajwa) and Munir Bhatti had been appointed as prosecutors in the case and we received the notification of our appointment at 4pm on Wednesday along-with 3,000 pages record,” said Prosecutor Advocate Ali Zia Bajwa.

The prosecutor requested the honorable court to give him time to read the record of the case. “I would not depend on the arguments of the previous prosecution team,” he added.

One of the members of the bench, Justice Nazar Akbar, asked the newly appointed prosecutors to tell the court that when they would present their arguments, adding that court couldn’t give them more than a week’s time.

Replying to that, Advocate Bajwa requested the court to give him reasonable amount of time.

Justice Waqar Seth was of the view that they (prosecutors) should set side other cases and completely concentrate and fight this case, while Justice Nazar Akbar was of the view that four days were enough to prepare for this case.

Justice Waqar Seth remarked that this is a special case and this is a special court, adding that judges from various parts of the country had arrived for the special court proceedings.

Adovocate Bajwa (prosecutor) said that there was a lot of pressure on them, replying to which Justice Nazar Bajwa said: “What pressure could there be on lawyers and the court? The lawyers’ job is to assist the court,” Dawn reported.

According to Justice Waqar Seth they would write that the prosecution should record their statements by December 17^th.

Justice Waqar Seth adjourned the proceedings till December 17th and said they would hear arguments of the prosecution on the next proceeding and announce the verdict.

According to Dawn, the high treason trial of the former military dictator for clamping the state of emergency on Nov 3, 2007, has been pending since December 2013.

General Musharraf was booked in the treason case in December 2013. Musharraf was indicted on March 31, 2014, and the prosecution had tabled the entire evidence before the special court in September the same year. However, due to litigation at appellate forums, the trial of the former military dictator lingered on and he left Pakistan in March 2016, Dawn reported.