LAHORE: The Lahore High Court (LHC) on Monday overturned the death penalty for former military ruler Pervez Musharraf and declared as “unconstitutional” the special court which sentenced him last month.
Musharraf’s lawyer, Azhar Siddique, told Arab News the court ruled that Section 9 of the Criminal Law Amendment (Special Court) Act under which Musharraf’s in absentia trial took place is unconstitutional.
The former president has been living in self-exile in Dubai and failed to attend the special court’s hearings, prompting the in absentia proceedings.
His conviction by the special court on Dec. 17 focused on the suspension of the Constitution and imposition of a state of emergency in 2007. Neither Pakistan’s parliament nor superior judiciary had validated the action, which under the law is punishable by death or life imprisonment.
High court advocate Malik Muhammad Siddique Awan told Arab News that the special court, which sentenced Musharraf, was established by the Supreme Court of Pakistan and only the Supreme Court “has jurisdiction with regard to any appeal including the formation of court.”
Since the special court is in Islamabad, according to Awan, the Lahore court was not competent to entertain Musharraf’s appeal. “If by any stretch of law any high court has jurisdiction, then it is Islamabad high court and not the LHC.”
“This decision by LHC has actually overruled the verdict against the former military ruler … Now there is no case against Musharraf and he is a free man, like any other citizen of Pakistan,” he said.
According to Ashtar Ausaf Ali, former Attorney General, the case is not over as “the court has only dealt with the procedural faults.”
“The court has acquitted General Pervez Musharraf on technical grounds but did not declare that crime was not committed. Under the law of the land, there is no time limit for criminal proceedings and this case may be re-initiated against him at any time,” he told Arab News.
Musharraf seized power in a bloodless coup in October 1999 and resigned in 2008 amid public protests.
Lahore court overturns Musharraf death sentence
https://arab.news/9bep9
Lahore court overturns Musharraf death sentence
- The former military ruler was sentenced to death on high treason charges by an Islamabad court in December 2019
- Despite Lahore court’s decision, Musharraf’s case is not over yet, says former Attorney General
Pakistan says it is targeting militant infrastructure in Afghanistan as Kabul threatens to hit Islamabad
- Ata Tarar says Pakistan is carrying out ‘precise intelligence-based operations’ to avoid civilian casualties
- Afghan defense minister says the underlying dispute between the two sides is over the ‘Durand Line’ border
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan said on Saturday it was conducting intelligence-based operations against militant infrastructure inside Afghanistan while attempting to avoid civilian casualties, as a senior Afghan Taliban official warned Kabul could retaliate by targeting Islamabad if Pakistani forces struck the Afghan capital.
The escalating rhetoric comes as cross-border fighting between the two neighbors intensifies following clashes that began last month when Afghan forces launched attacks on Pakistani military installations along the frontier. Kabul said the assault was retaliation for Pakistani airstrikes targeting what Islamabad called militant camps inside Afghanistan.
Pakistan’s defense minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif said last week the situation had effectively become “open war” between the two countries.
“Pakistan is only targeting terrorist infrastructures and support system with precise intelligence based operations ensuring no collateral damage takes place,” Pakistan’s Information Minister Ataullah Tarar said in a statement.
He challenged the recent claims made by an Afghan defense ministry spokesperson earlier this week who said his country was making significant battlefield gains against Pakistan including the killing of 109 soldiers and the capture or destruction of 14 military posts in large scale attacks.
“These so called attacks by Afghan Taliban in coordination with FAK [Fitna Al Khawarij] Terrorists once again confirm the nexus of Afghan Taliban regime and multiple terrorist organizations operating from within their territory,” Tarar continued. “All such attempts are responded to, immediately and effectively with severe retributive punishment that is swift, precise and effective.”
“The imaginary numbers being floated by Afghan Taliban regime are however not worth any serious comment,” he added.
Tarar said Pakistan’s military campaign — described as Operation Ghazb Lil Haq — had inflicted heavy losses on Afghan Taliban forces.
According to figures shared by the minister, 527 Taliban fighters had been killed and more than 755 injured since the clashes began, while 237 check posts were destroyed and 38 captured and destroyed. He said 205 tanks, armored vehicles and artillery guns were destroyed and 62 locations across Afghanistan had been targeted by air strikes.
Arab News could not independently verify the claims made by either side.
CIVILIAN CASUALTIES
Earlier this week, the United Nations raised concern over the toll of the escalating conflict on civilians.
UN human rights chief Volker Turk said on Friday that 56 Afghan civilians — nearly half of them children — had been killed since hostilities between Pakistan and Afghanistan intensified.
However, Tarar questioned the UN findings, saying its assertions appeared to rely heavily on information provided by Taliban authorities and did not adequately reflect independently verified intelligence.
“Pakistan categorically reiterates that all counter-terrorism operations conducted by its security forces are carried out with the highest degree of precision, professionalism, and responsibility,” he said.
Islamabad has long accused the Taliban government of allowing militant groups, including the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), to operate from Afghan soil, a charge Kabul denies.
“Operations are meticulously planned so that civilian areas remain completely safe,” the minister said. “The locations targeted are remote terrorist hideouts and facilities far removed from populated zones, including sensitive areas such as Kabul’s Green Zone.”
AFGHAN WARNING
Meanwhile, Afghanistan’s Defense Minister Mullah Yaqoob issued a warning to Pakistan in remarks circulated by Afghan broadcaster TOLOnews.
“If Kabul lacks peace, there will be no peace in Islamabad. If Kabul is attacked, Islamabad will be attacked,” Yaqoob said in a promotional clip of an interview shared on social media.
Yaqoob rejected Pakistan’s justification that the presence of the TTP in Afghanistan warranted military action and suggested the underlying dispute was over the contested “Durand Line” border between the two countries.
So far, there has been no official response from Pakistan to Yaqoob’s remarks.
