ISLAMABAD: Former president retired General Pervez Musharraf has sought high treason trial of civilian leaders and military officials who allegedly abetted in the imposition of state of emergency on Nov 3, 2007.
In an application filed in the special court seized with his treason trial on Monday, Gen Musharraf requested the three-member court to summon all those who had been consulted by him before the imposition of emergency.
According to the proclamation issued about the emergency, Gen Musharraf imposed emergency after consultation with the then prime minister, governors of four provinces, chairman of the joint chiefs of staff committee, chiefs of armed forces, vice chief of army staff and corps commanders.
He requested the court to initiate a trial of all of them together and argued that in the face of such omission, his trial would stand vitiated.
The application said: “Sub clause 2 of the Article 6 of the constitution highlights abettors and collaborators, rendering them equally liable with same quantum of punishment as required to be meted out to principle offenders.”
It said that the High Treason Punishment Act 1973 made it imperative that the court would take cognizance on a written complaint made by a person authorised by the federal government. Under section 5 of Article 6, the federal government is required to forward to the special court a complaint with a list of accused persons.
It was the legal right of the accused to be provided the investigation report and material on which it was based and the report of the supervisory committee, the application said.
It said that some members of the investigation team wanted to arraign all abettors and conspirators with the principal accused. Those officials who submitted a report have been sidelined as the report did not fulfil the desire of the prime minister.
It said the report had been withheld on the pretext that it went against the government’s prerogative to arbitrarily choose the accused, even though they (the abettors and conspirators) might be identically placed.
“Unless the names of all co-accused are supplied to the respondent (Musharraf), the very taking of cognizance by this honourable court becomes both questionable and controversial,” the application argued.
It requested the court to provide Gen Musharraf the inquiry report prepared by a four- member team of the FIA.
