ISLAMABAD, July 29 Senator Zafar Ali Shah approached the Supreme Court on Wednesday seeking review of its May 2000 decision to validate the coup by former army chief Gen Pervez Musharraf on Oct 12, 1999, in which the second government of Nawaz Sharif was overthrown.

“I have filed the review petition by highlighting 13 points requesting the court to declare the steps taken by Gen (retd) Pervez Musharraf as unconstitutional, with a ruling that his removal from office was legitimate,” Mr Shah told reporters after filing the petition.

He urged the PPP-led government to initiate a high treason case against the former military ruler.

Giving reasons for filing the petition after nine years, he cited the example of a recent judgment by a five-judge SC bench condoning a similar time lapse in the plane hijacking case against former prime minister Nawaz Sharif.

On May 13, 2000, a 12-judge bench of the apex court, of which the incumbent chief justice was also a member, had validated the Oct 1999 coup by invoking “doctrine of necessity”.

The court had also allowed Pervez Musharraf to amend the Constitution, but without touching the basic structure and given him three years to hold general elections.

In his petition, Mr Shah requested the court to expunge allegations levelled against Nawaz Sharif and declare all decisions delivered by the court under the doctrine of necessity as unconstitutional in order to block “future adventurism” both by a civilian or military dictator to remove judges.

The petition also appealed to the court to declare the holding of presidential office through referendum as illegal and unconstitutional and the emergency order of Oct 12, 1999, as violative of the Constitution.