Pak lawyer moves SC against HC verdict

Islamabad: A Pakistani lawyer has approached the Supreme Court to set aside the verdict of a high court that annulled the death sentence of self-exiled former dictator Pervez Musharraf.
The special court in Islamabad on December 17 last handed down the death penalty to the 74-year-old retired general, now based in Dubai, after six years of hearing a high-profile treason case against him. The Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) government led by former prime minister Nawaz Sharif had filed the treason case against the former army chief in 2013 over the imposition of an extra-constitutional emergency in November 2007, which led to the confinement of a number of superior court judges in their houses and sacking of over 100 judges.
On January 13, Musharraf’s trial in the high treason case was declared as “unconstitutional” by the Lahore High Court (LHC), leading to the annulment of the death sentence against the former president. The LHC declared that the formation of the special court was “unconstitutional” and that the treason case against Musharraf was not prepared in accordance with the law.
In an appeal on Monday, senior counsel Hamid Khan, representing petitioner Advocate Taufiq Asif, requested the apex court to set aside the LHC verdict by declaring it illegal and without lawful authority, Dawn newspaper reported on Tuesday.
The petitioner argued that the HC through its order had virtually invalidated and rendered ineffective Article 6 of the Constitution, which has a special significance and importance in the constitutional history of Pakistan. (PTI)