ISLAMABAD, March 22: The Supreme Court on Wednesday asked the chief government lawyer to reply to a challenge of convict, Mushtaq Ahmed, to the death sentence handed down by a military court for his involvement in the 2003 attempt on the life of President Pervez Musharraf.

A bench, comprising Chief Justice of Pakistan Justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry, Justice Mian Shakirullah Jan and Justice M. Javed Buttar, while hearing an appeal of Mushtaq Ahmed decided to summon Attorney-General Makhdoom Ali Khan on April 12, the next hearing date.

In his petition, Mushtaq Ahmed has pleaded that a civilian could not be sentenced by a military court. His counsel advocate Mohammad Akram and advocate Hashmat Habib also argued that their client was not a regular employee of the Air Force and, therefore, could not be sentenced by the military court.

They stated that Mushtaq Ahmed was convicted for inciting junior employees of the Air Force for sedition, the maximum punishment for which was life imprisonment, but their client had been handed down more than the maximum prescribed punishment.

Earlier, the execution of Mushtaq Ahmed, scheduled for March 15, was delayed when he moved an urgent appeal before the Supreme Court. But the court directed him to withdraw the plea, which he filed by invoking court’s jurisdiction under fundamental rights (Article 184-3 of the constitution), and resubmit it under court’s original appellate jurisdiction (Article 185-3).

In the new appeal, Mushtaq Ahmed contended that he could not be sentenced to death under the Air Force Act as he was not a regular employee of the air force and that during the inquiry no legal proof had been established for involvement in the crime.

On Nov 19, 2004, the military court sentenced Mushtaq Ahmed to death under the Air Force Act for being part of Dec 14, 2003, plot to assassinate President Musharraf by blowing a Jhanda Chichi bridge (Rawalpindi).

Mushtaq Ahmed, who had escaped from the custody during trial but arrested last year from the motorway, was convicted for inciting six former PAF junior officers, chief technician Khalid Mehmood, senior technician Karam Din, Corporal technician Nawazish Ali and junior technicians Niaz Mohammad, Adnan Rasheed and Nasrullah.

Karam Din and Nasrullah were convicted by the military court for life, but rest of the four were awarded death sentence. Their appeals against the conviction have already been dismissed by a military appeal court.

The Rawalpindi bench of the Lahore High Court (LHC) also upheld the death sentence awarded to Mushtaq Ahmad.