ISLAMABAD: Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Wednesday set aside the non-bailable arrest warrants issued for the former president retired General Pervez Musharraf in the murder case of Lal Masjid cleric Abdul Rashid Ghazi.

On June 19, acting District and Sessions Judge Kamran Basharat Mufti issued non-bailable arrest warrants, while rejecting his plea for exemption from appearing based on medical reasons.

IHC Justice Aamir Farooq referred the matter back to the sessions judge to decide on the plea for exemption of Gen Musharraf, on the basis of a new medical report submitted by the counsel for former president.

In the new medical report, the doctors once again advised the former military ruler not to travel outside Karachi.

It may be mentioned that in April this year, a nine-member medical board had advised Gen Musharraf not to travel out of the port city.

On July 7, IHC sought a fresh medical report from Gen Musharraf’s counsel after an initial hearing on the petition filed against the issuance of the arrest warrants.

In the petition, Gen Musharraf’s counsel Malik Tahir Mahmood stated that the trial court did not adopt the right procedure as envisaged under the law and acted hastily in issuing the non-bailable warrants for his client.

Decision was made in light of a new medical report

Advocate Mahmood stated that Musharraf was in Karachi where a medical board constituted upon the directions of an anti-terrorism court in Quetta examined him and advised him not to travel due to certain conditions duly mentioned in the report. Subsequently, the court in Quetta exempted Gen Musharraf from appearance, he added.

The report was presented before the special bench seized with the high treason trial of Gen Musharraf and the three members’ bench considered it.

Even the ATC Islamabad considered the report and exempted the petitioner from personal appearance in the judges’ detention case, he added.

Aabpara Police registered an FIR against Musharraf in 2013 for his alleged role in the murder of Ghazi and his mother, during the 2007 Lal Masjid operation.

Published in Dawn, July 30th, 2015

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