ISLAMABAD: A petition was filed in the Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Tuesday, challenging the special court constituted to try former military ruler General (retd) Pervez Musharraf for high treason.
The petition was filed by Riaz Hanif Rahi, saying that the formation of the special court was against the Constitution and law and made the law ministry, interior ministry, registrar of the special court and Director General Federal Investigative Agency (FIA) parties to the case.
The Supreme Court of Pakistan had constituted the three-member special court headed by Justice Faisal Arab and comprising Justice Tahira Safdar and Justice Yawar Ali last month in response to a federal government’s request, aiming to try Musharraf under article 6 of the constitution for imposing an emergency in the country on November 3, 2007.
On December 13, the special court held its first meeting in the Federal Shariat Court to examine the complaint filed by the federal government against Musharraf and issued summons to him to appear before it on December 24.
The federal government had leveled five charges against former military ruler, according to the complaint.
The first charge was related to issuance of “an unconstitutional and unlawful ‘Proclamation of Emergency Order 2007’ which, unconstitutionally and unlawfully, held the Constitution of Islamic Republic of Pakistan 1973 in abeyance.”
The second charge was related to amending the constitution. The complaint said the former military ruler “issued an unconstitutional and unlawful Provisional Constitution Order (PCO) which empowered him to amend the constitution.”
According to the third charge, Musharraf “issued an unconstitutional and unlawful “Oath of Office (Judges) Order 2007.” The fourth offence against the former president was that he issued a “Constitution (Amendment) Order 2007 and unconstitutionally and unlawfully amended the constitution, and Article 270AAA was added to the constitution.”
The fifth charge was the issuance of “Constitution (Second Amendment) Order 2007.”
