ISLAMABAD: Justice Athar Minallah of the Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Wednesday referred three identical petitions – implicating three ‘big-shots’ as former president retired General Pervez Musharraf’s co-accused in the treason case – to the IHC chief justice.

Justice Minallah forwarded the petitions to Chief Justice Mohammad Anwar Khan Kasi to constitute a larger bench to hear petitions by former prime minister Shaukat Aziz, former Chief Justice Abdul Hameed Dogar and former federal minister Zahid Hamid, challenging the order of a special court seized with the high treason trial.

The three-judge special court, headed by Justice Faisal Arab of the Sindh High Court (SHC), had, on November 21, ordered the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) to include Mr Aziz, Mr Dogar and Mr Hamid as co-accused in the treason case for abetting in the imposition of the November 3, 2007 emergency.

Gen Musharraf, in his application, claimed that he was not alone in imposing the emergency as he discussed the decision with several military and civilian leaders.

In the written reply, the federal government held Gen Musharraf solely responsible for imposing emergency and issuing a Provisional Constitutional Order (PCO) on November 3, 2007. However, on May 19, the additional attorney general (AAG) informed the court that the government was willing to investigate certain abettors in the case as it was ready to provide them the opportunity to clarify their positions.

The Supreme Court had, earlier this month, hearing a petition filed by a lawyer Taufiq Asif challenging the November 21 order, had given the IHC a month to conclude the hearing of the three petitions.

IHC Justice Minallah, after an initial hearing, restrained the special court from proceeding in this matter, which is why the treason trial against Gen Musharraf has been suspended since December last year.

Published in Dawn, May 28th, 2015

On a mobile phone? Get the Dawn Mobile App: Apple Store | Google Play