Ex. president Musharraf treason case: Special court issues detailed verdict

A copy of the detailed verdict has been handed to an official of the Ministry of Interior.

Islamabad: The special court, which had found General (retd) Pervez Musharraf guilty over high treason charges earlier this week, issued its detailed verdict. A copy of the detailed verdict has been handed to an official of the Ministry of Interior.

On Tuesday, the court had sentenced Musharraf to death for imposing a state of emergency on November 3, 2007, adding that it had found him guilty of high treason in accordance with Article 6 of the Constitution of Pakistan.

The case was heard by a bench comprising Justice Waqar Ahmad Seth of the Peshawar High Court, Justice Shahid Karim of the Lahore High Court and Justice Nazar Akbar of the Sindh High Court. It was a majority verdict, with two of the three judges giving the decision against Musharraf. SHC’s Justice Akbar had dissented from the verdict.

The 150-page order has been jointly authored by Justice Seth and Justice Shahid. Soon after the short order was issued on Tuesday, DG ISPR Major General Asif Ghafoor made a statement, saying that the death penalty verdict was received with a “lot of pain and anguish” by Pakistan Army.

The federal government, too, had expressed its reservations, saying the requirements for a fair trial under Article 10-A were not fulfilled in the case. Attorney General Anwar Mansoor Khan had made it clear that the government will not oppose an appeal against the special court’s verdict.