ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Bar Council said on Friday it would file a petition in the Supreme Court to defend a judge who wrote the verdict in the high treason case against the country’s former army chief, General (retired) Pervez Musharraf.
The government had criticized the wordings of the ruling, saying it would file a reference against the judge in the Supreme Judicial Council.
Justice Waqar Ahmed Seth’s order in the detailed judgment released on Thursday drew widespread criticism in which he instructed the authorities to “drag” Musharraf’s “corpse” to D-Chowk and hang it there for three days, if he was found dead before the execution of death penalty awarded to him in the case.
The government announced shortly after the release of the detailed judgment that it would move the Supreme Judicial Council — a constitutional body authorized to hear cases of misconduct against members of the country’s superior judiciary – against Justice Seth for his “despicable” observation in the judgment.
“We will challenge the government’s reference against Justice Seth in the Supreme Court, and defend his verdict in the case,” Syed Amjad Shah, vice chairman of the Pakistan Bar Council, the country’s top regulatory body of lawyers, told Arab News on Friday.
He said that the government’s “mala fide intent” against the judge was exposed by its stance against the verdict. “The government has the prerogative to file a reference against any judge, but under the law it cannot be entertained,” he said.
Shah said the government and other aggrieved parties can file a petition in the Supreme Court against the ruling, but “cannot get a judge removed” through the Supreme Judicial Council on the basis of a judgment.
The 76-year-old, former military ruler was handed down death sentence on Tuesday in absentia as he currently resides in Dubai and is undergoing treatment for multiple ailments. He seized power in October 1999 in a bloodless military coup and remained in power till 2008.
The apex court’s senior lawyers said it was a lengthy and complicated process to file a reference against any judge of the superior judiciary and then get him removed for misconduct, physical or mental incapacity.
“The government apparently wants to offset pressure from different sides by filing the reference,” Habibullah Khan, senior advocate Supreme Court, told Arab News. “The government wants to show it has adopted a legal course against the judge who used graphic reference in the Musharraf ruling.”
About the formation of Supreme Judicial Council, he said it consisted of five members — the chief justice of the Supreme Court, the next two senior most judges of the apex court and two senior judges from high courts.
The council may initiate a probe on the request of the president or on its own, if it suspects that a judge may be incapable of properly preforming his/her duties due to physical and mental incapacity or misconduct.
All proceedings of the council are held in-camera and are not open to public, he said.
“If a judge is charged with any of the offense, he is removed by the president,” he said. “But in Justice Seth’s case, the government is not in a position to establish a cogent case against him.”
However, political analysts said the government was left with no option but to file a reference against the judge after the ruling against the former chief of the all-powerful military.
“The government is trying to get a face saving by moving a reference against the judge,” Zebunnisa Burki, political analyst, told Arab News. “The government is caught in a catch-22: It can neither support the verdict nor oppose it openly.”
Pakistan lawyers’ body backs judge who issued Musharraf ruling
https://arab.news/8ma95
Pakistan lawyers’ body backs judge who issued Musharraf ruling
- The Pakistan Bar Council says it will challenge the government’s reference in the apex court
- The government can neither support nor oppose Musharraf’s death penalty, says political analyst
Pakistan FM discusses regional situation with Saudi counterpart, urges restraint and dialogue
- This is the second time the two foreign ministers have spoken since the Arab Coalition targeted weapon shipments on Yemen’s Mukalla port
- Saudi Arabia’s foreign ministry has invited factions in south Yemen to hold a dialogue in Riyadh to ‘discuss just solutions to southern cause’
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s foreign minister, Ishaq Dar, discussed the regional situation with his Saudi counterpart, Prince Faisal bin Farhan, and called for restraint and dialogue to resolve issues, the Pakistani foreign office said late Friday, amid tensions prevailing over Yemen.
This is the second time the two foreign ministers have spoken this week since the Saudi Arabia-led Coalition to Support Legitimacy in Yemen carried out a “limited” airstrike on Dec. 30, targeting two shipments of smuggled weapons and military equipment sent from the Emirati port of Fujairah to Mukalla in southern Yemen.
A coalition forces spokesperson said the weapons were meant to support the Southern Transitional Council (STC) forces, backed by the United Arab Emirates (UAE), in Yemen’s Hadramaut and Al-Mahra “with the aim of fueling the conflict.” The UAE has since announced withdrawal of its remaining troops from Yemen, rejecting any actions that could threaten the Kingdom or undermine regional stability.
In their telephonic conversation late Friday, the Pakistani and Saudi foreign ministers discussed the latest situation in the region, according to the Pakistani foreign office.
“FM [Dar] stressed that all concerned in the region must avoid any escalatory move and advised to resolve the issues through dialogue and diplomacy for the sake of regional peace and stability,” it added.
Separately, Saudi Arabia’s foreign ministry invited factions in south Yemen to hold a dialogue in Riyadh to “discuss just solutions to the southern cause.”
The ministry statement said the conference in the Saudi capital had been requested by Rashad Al-Alimi, President of the Yemeni Presidential Leadership Council, and the Kingdom urged all factions to participate “to develop a comprehensive vision” that would fulfill the aspirations of the southern people.
Disregarding previous agreements with the Arab Coalition, the STC separatist group launched a sweeping military campaign early in December, seizing the governorates of Hadramaut along the Saudi border and the eastern governorate of Al-Mahra in Yemen’s border with Oman. It also took control of the strategic PetroMasila oilfields, which account for a massive portion of Yemen’s remaining oil wealth.
The advance has raised the spectre of the return of South Yemen, a separate state from 1967 to 1990, while dealing a hammer-blow to slow-moving peace negotiations with Iran-backed Houthi rebels.
Saudi Arabia said the STC action poses a direct threat to the Kingdom’s national security, and regional stability. The Kingdom has reiterated the only way to bring the southern cause to a resolution is through dialogue.
On Thursday, Pakistan’s foreign office expressed solidarity with Saudi Arabia and reaffirmed Islamabad’s commitment to the Kingdom’s security, amid rising tensions in Yemen.
“Pakistan expresses complete solidarity with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and reaffirms its commitment to security of the Kingdom,” Pakistani foreign office spokesperson Tahir Andrabi told reporters at a weekly news briefing.
“Pakistan maintains its firm support for the resolution of Yemen issue through dialogue and diplomacy and hopes that Yemen’s people and regional powers work together toward inclusive and enduring settlement of the issue, safeguarding regional stability.”
Pakistan and Saudi Arabia signed a landmark defense pact in September last year, according to which aggression against one country will be treated as an attack against both. The pact signaled a push by both governments to formalize long-standing military ties into a binding security commitment.
