Govt decides to file reference against special court’s judge in SJC

ISLAMABAD (92 News) – Following the special court’s detailed verdict in former president Pervez Musharraf treason case, the government has decided to file a reference against Justice Waqar Ahmed Seth in the Supreme Judicial Council (SJC). According to the sources, the decision was taken duering the media strategy committee meeting under the chair of Prime Minister Imran Khan. The government’s legal team has stated that the detailed verdict is violation of the legal and humanitarian limits. “The special court verdict has created a sense of anarchy in the country. This verdict negates the law, shariah and human rights,” the sources added quoting the meeting debate. It added that PM Khan vowed not to let stability be affected in the country and any attempt to create conflict among institutions will be foiled. The prime minister has also tasked his legal team to present the government’s response on special court’s verdict. On Thursday, the special court issued a 169-page detailed judgment in the high treason case against former president Pervez Musharraf. A copy of the detailed judgment was handed over to the counsel of former president Pervez Musharraf. According to the detailed judgment, Musharraf had imposed emergency and violated the constitution on November 3, 2007. All allegations against him are proved without any doubt. Musharraf was given the right to fair trial. The accused is granted sentence for each offence. The court also ordered to bring the people involved in abetting his fled should also be brought in the ambit of the law and action should also be taken against him. The court also directed the law enforcement agencies to apprehend the convict and inflict the punishment on him as per law. “If found dead, his corpse be dragged to the D-Chowk, Islamabad, Pakistan and be hanged for three days,” it ruled. On the other hand, Justice Shahid Karim of the Lahore High Court agreed to the decision to hang Pervez Musharraf to death, but he dissented from the decision of hanging him publicly. On December 16, the special court had handed death penalty to former president Pervez Musharraf in the high treason case. A three-member bench of the special court headed by Peshawar High Court Chief Justice Waqar Ahmad Seth and comprising of Justice Nazar Akbar of the Sindh High Court (SHC) and Justice Shahid Karim of the LHC announced the short verdict. However, Justice Nazar Akbar had dissented from the sentence. According to the verdict, Pervez Musharraf had violated the constitution on November 3, 2007. It has been stated in the verdict that the violation of the constitution is proved against Pervez Musharraf and he is awarded death penalty under Article 6. The high treason case against the former president for clamping the state of emergency on Nov 3, 2007, has been pending since December 2013.