ISLAMABAD: As the final prosecution witness in the high treason case was summoned by the special court, the lawyers of former president retired General Pervez Musharraf filed another application on Wednesday to implicate former civil and military leadership in the case.

Filed by the lead defence counsel, Barrister Farogh Nasim, the application also suggested the special court to dismiss the government complaint filed against Gen Musharraf if the prosecution does not implicate a number of ‘abettors’.

Also read: Emergency imposed on ‘Shaukat’s advice’

On Wednesday, proceedings of the special court, headed by Justice Faisal Arab of Sindh High Court (SHC) resumed in the Federal Shariat Court building.

The defence lawyers concluded cross-examination of FIA Director Maqsoodul Hassan and one of the four members of the joint investigation team (JIT) constituted in June last year to probe charges against Musharraf.

After that, Justice Arab summoned head of the JIT, FIA Additional Director General Khalid Qureshi, the eighth and the last prosecution witness, to testify in the case.

Before rising of the three-judge special court, Barrister Nasim submitted an application against the JIT’s investigation report. In the application, the lawyer contended that on March 7, the court had ruled that “the involvement of any other person would depend on the evidence which would come on the record”.

The application pointed out that in June, Interior Secretary Shahid Khan had maintained during his cross-examination that though the JIT in its report had recommended the competent authority to also take into account the role of various facilitators in the unconstitutional proclamation of emergency on November 3, 2007, he did not initiate an action against any other person as there was no material against them.

Know more: Musharraf’s ‘abettors’

The application further stated that secretary interior also admitted that the “statements of Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee, Chief of the Armed Forces, Vice Chief of Army Staff and corps commanders of Pakistan Army could not be obtained even though efforts were made to record their statements through the defence ministry.”The application maintained that Shahid Khan had also admitted that fresh appointments of the superior courts’ judges were made by former prime minister on the recommendation of the then law minister and secretary.

It claimed that the complaint against Gen Musharraf was defectively framed and filed in violation of Articles 9, 10-A and 25 of the Constitution.

It requested the court either to dismiss the complaint or return it back to the complainant with the direction to only re-file it after including and adding all persons allegedly involved in the imposition of emergency on November 3, 2007.

Published in Dawn, September 11th , 2014