ISLAMABAD - Former president Pervez Musharraf has decided to withdraw his appeal against the apex court Registrar’s order on transferring the high treason case from Special Court to military court.
Faisal Chaudhry, counsel of the former army chief, told The Nation Wednesday that as Special Court had accepted Pervez Musharraf’s application on co-accused, therefore, there was no need to contest the appeal regarding transferring the high treason case to military court. He said that his client had decided to withdraw the appeal pending in Supreme Court since March 2014.
Khalid Ranjha, a member of the defence team, had argued before the Special Court that punishment for high treason has been included in the Pakistan Army Act 1952 under Army Act (Act X) 1977, therefore, transferring the Musharraf case to military court.
However, the Special Court headed by Justice Faisal Arab on February 21, 2014 had rejected Musharraf plea and ruled that under the Criminal Law Amendment (Special Court) Act 1976 it has power to hear the case against the former dictator.
Musharraf had challenged the Special Court decision in Islamabad High Court and requested the court to set aside the order of the Special Court and direct the federal government to transfer the case to the military court.
The registrar office of IHC held that since the special court, seized with his high treason trial, has rejected the identical petition for transferring the high treason case to the military court, therefore, being the appellate forum such petition could only be filed in the Supreme Court.
Musharraf then filed the petition in Supreme Court. The Registrar Supreme Court objecting to his application declared that different kinds of verdicts given by Special Court could not be challenged in one application; hence review petition against verdicts of Special Court can be challenged.
Musharraf counsel then filed the appeal against the SC Registrar, which had been pending since then. As Justice Asif Saeed Khan Khosa would hear the appeal in his chamber today, however, the Musharraf counsel decided to withdraw the appeal.
