ISLAMABAD: An anti-terrorism court (ATC) in Rawalpindi on Monday dismissed objections raised by former president Pervez Musharraf against the testimony of US lobbyist Mark Siegel recorded through a video link in the Benazir Bhutto murder case.

On November 4, the former military ruler had filed an application through his counsel Barrister Farogh Nasim, challenging the legality of Mr Siegel’s testimony.

However, after hearing the arguments of Musharraf’s counsel and the special public prosecutor, ATC judge Rai Mohammad Ayub Khan Marth dismissed the application.

Arguing before the court, Barrister Nasim said the testimony was recorded in violation of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) as no judicial officer was present while Mr Siegel testified.

He said the testimony lacked transparency and did not meet the requirements of the CrPC.

Barrister Nasim requested the court to direct Mr Siegel to appear in-person before the ATC to record his statement again.

Special public prosecutor Khawaja Imtiaz, however, maintained that the Anti-Terrorism Act (ATA) not only allowed the testimony of any witness through a video link but also permitted the ATC to conduct the entire trial proceeding through video conferencing.

He recalled that on June 22 this year, the ATC had rejected an application filed by Gen Musharraf against the legality of recording the testimony through a video link after which the court issued summons to Mr Siegel.

Technically, the accused (Gen Musharraf) could file an appeal with Lahore High Court (LHC) as the matter of video link testimony had already been decided by the ATC.

He said due to security concerns, the US lobbyist had refused to come to Pakistan to record his statement.

Talking to Dawn, prosecutor Imtiaz said Mr Siegel was ready to be cross-examined but it was deferred as Gen Musharraf challenged his statement.

He said after the ATC order, Mr Siegel would be contacted again through the Pakistan embassy in Washington for his cross-examination.

Mr Siegel had recorded his statement with the ATC on Oct 1 through a video link from New York and connected Gen Musharraf with Ms Bhutto’s murder. He said despite imminent threats to her life, the former military ruler deliberately did not provide a security detail to Ms Bhutto which she deserved as a former prime minister.

The lobbyist claimed that the PPP had sought permission from Gen Musharraf to bring foreign security personnel with Ms Bhutto and asked for vehicles with tinted glasses but both the requests were rejected.

Musharraf had earlier rejected Mr Siegel’s allegations and termed his testimony ‘despicable.’

Mr Siegel is the fourth prosecution witness against Gen Musharraf in the murder case. Former secretary interior Kamal Shah and ex-National Crisis Management Cell director general retired Brig Javed Iqbal Cheema did not support the prosecution case. The third witness, former Intelligence Bureau (IB) director general Ejaz Shah, was dropped by the prosecution.

Published in Dawn, November 24th, 2015