ISLAMABAD: A day before his possible indictment by a special court, former president retired General Pervez Musharraf filed on Tuesday an intra-court appeal (ICA) against rejection by the Islamabad High Court of his three petitions seeking ‘high treason’ trial by a military court and challenging the establishment of the special court and its members and appointment of Advocate Akram Shaikh as head of the prosecution team.

The IHC dismissed the petitions on Dec 23, a day before the commencement of his trial for high treason.

In his judgment, Justice Riaz Ahmed Khan of the IHC had observed that “the contention of (Musharraf’s counsel) is not correct for the reason that the petitioner is being tried for the offence committed under Article 6 of the Constitution…..since the constitution has overriding effect over all the other laws, including the Pakistan Army Act, the prayer that the petitioner be tried under the Army Act is not correct”.

The ICA filed by Gen Musharraf’s lawyer Dr Khalid Ranjha in the IHC contended that the appellant was entitled to be treated on a par with other identical matter. It said: “Of recent General Khalid Gul Khan, General Muzaffar Afzal and General Khalid Zaheer held offices of director general of NLC and on being found involved in misappropriation they were sought to be tried by the National Accountability Bureau. They stood retired but the army intervened and restored their ranks even so as to render them triable before the court martial.”

The ICA said the army opted to try its officers because the offences had been committed by them at the time when they were on the roll of the army. The federal government referred the case for court martial.

The appeal said the right of fair trial and due process was fundamental right of the appellant, adding that he had the right to be treated like others before a court of competent jurisdiction i.e. court martial.

It alleged that Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and former chief justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry had some personal grudge with Gen Musharraf and they played active role in the establishment of the special court and appointment of its three members.