ISLAMABAD: Federal Minister for Law and Justice announced on Thursday that the government would file a reference against one of the judges who tried Pakistan’s former military ruler, General (r) Pervez Musharraf, in the Supreme Judicial Council — a constitutional body that is authorized to hear cases of misconduct against members of the country’s superior judiciary.
Justice Waqar Ahmed Seth, who is also the chief justice of Peshawar High Court, authored the detailed judgment in the treason trial against Musharraf, instructing the authorities to “apprehend the fugitive/convict” to “ensure that the punishment is inflicted as per law.” However, if the former army chief was “found dead,” his “corpse” should “be dragged to the D-Chowk, Islamabad, Pakistan and be hanged for 03 days.”
Addressing a news conference in Islamabad, the law minister questioned the authority that empowered the judge to make such “an unprecedented, despicable and wrong observation.” He reminded the media of a 1994 judgment issued by the former chief justice, Nasim Hasan Shah, that deemed public hanging against the country’s constitution.
The law minister added that Justice Seth was “mentally unfit” to be part of the superior judiciary and should be restrained from working in that capacity.
“This is an attempt to take Pakistan into dark ages,” he said after announcing that the government would file a reference against the judge in the Supreme Judicial Council.
Earlier in the day, Major General Asif Ghafoor, the director-general of the military’s media wing Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), also issued a brief statement in Rawalpindi, expressing his reservations at the language used in the detailed verdict against Musharraf, saying that it was against basic human, religious and cultural norms.
He said he had discussed the nature and character of war in his previous media briefings while highlighting that Pakistan was facing the specter of hybrid war.
Ghafoor said the country’s armed forces were keeping an eye on the situation and knew about the internal and external enemies.
He maintained that the army was not just an institution but a family, adding that it had sacrificed a great deal to bring about internal stability in the country and would not allow anyone to undermine the gains that were made.
The DG ISPR said there were elements who wanted to “provoke us” and trigger “internecine conflict” in the country. However, he noted that the armed forces were fully aware of how to defend Pakistan and secure their own institutional integrity.
Ghafoor revealed that the army chief had discussed the detailed verdict in Musharraf’s treason trial with the prime minister, though he said the “decisions” made during the conversation would be announced by the government.
He also urged the people of Pakistan to trust the country’s armed forces.