ISLAMABAD: Farogh Nasim, the defence attorney for former president retired General Pervez Musharraf, concluded his cross-examination of Interior Secretary Shahid Khan on Wednesday.

During the cross-examination, Mr Khan admitted that a Federal Investigation Agency team had failed to obtain a record of meetings Mr Musharraf held ahead of the emergency proclamation on Nov 3, 2007, from the military’s General Headquarters.

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In the proclamation, Gen Musharraf had stated: “The situation has been reviewed in meetings with the prime minister, the governors of all four provinces and with chairman joint chiefs of staff committee, chiefs of the armed forces, the vice chief of army staff and corps commanders of Pakistan Army… in pursuance of the deliberations and decisions of the said meetings, I, General Pervez Musharraf, chief of the army staff, proclaim emergency throughout Pakistan.”

The interior secretary said that the identity of the military officers who were holding those offices on Nov 3, 2007 could be ascertained, but he “did not take legal action against the officers with regard to their involvement as abettors” because the investigating team did not find any evidence against them.

He said that in his opinion, following orders for illegal action or failure to dissent against such orders did not constitute to abetment of the crime.

When Barrister Nasim asked him whether Gen Kayani, who assumed charge as chief of army staff on Nov 28 but did not repeal the emergency – which was revoked by the former president himself on Dec 15 – was not an abettor, Mr Khan replied, “It is a legal question and I am not a constitutional expert,” adding, “I am not in a position to state that retired Gen Kayani, by (his) act of not withdrawing (the) proclamation during the period of November 28 to December 15, 2007, could be regarded as an abettor of the accused.”

The special court has summoned FIA Additional Director General Khalid Rasool, the Law Ministry’s Deputy Solicitor Taj Umar Khan and Cabinet Division Deputy Secretary Siraj Ahmed to record their statements and adjourned proceedings until Thursday.

Published in Dawn, July 3rd, 2014