ISLAMABAD - The Supreme Court Thursday conditioned the decision regarding qualification of former military ruler Pervez Musharraf to contest election to his appearance before the court.
The top court also rejected Musharraf’s plea to suspend the verdict of Peshawar High Court barring him lifetime from contesting election.
The top court also ruled that Musharraf can conditionally file his nomination papers for the upcoming general elections. However, the court observed Musharraf’s filing of nomination papers will be subject to the outcome of his appeal challenging the PHC verdict of lifetime ban on contesting election.
A three-judge bench headed by Chief Justice Mian Saqib Nisar also assured the former military ruler and All Pakistan Muslim League (APML) head Musharraf that he would not be arrested until his appearance before the court.
While issuing directives to the counsel representing Musharraf to convey the latter to appear before the court, the bench also fixed the hearing on June 13 at the top court’s Lahore Registry.
The former military ruler against whom the high treason case is pending adjudication for abrogating the constitution has been abroad since long on the pretext of medical treatment.
The condition of Musharraf’s appearance before the court for deciding whether he is qualified to contest election was imposed when the bench took up his appeal for hearing.
“Who is Syed Pervez Musharraf?” asked the chief justice at the outset of the hearing of the appeal. Advocate Qamar Afzal, the counsel appearing on behalf of Musharraf, informed the bench that his client was former chief of army staff and ex-president of Pakistan.
Advocate Afzal started his contentions with the background of the appeal, saying the appellate tribunal had set aside the orders of the returning officer who had accepted his client’s nomination papers in 2013.
He contended that a writ petition against the appellate tribunal was filed in the PHC, but it not only dismissed the petition but also imposed lifetime ban on his client to contest election. On this, the chief justice told the counsel of the former army chief to convey his client to appear before the apex court.
According to the appeal, Musharraf submitted his nomination papers to contest election in 2013 from NA-32, Chitral, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. The returning officer accepted the nomination papers through a comprehensive order.
An appeal was preferred against the RO’s order before an appellate tribunal which set aside the order, relying on a judgment of the Sindh High Court. Musharraf moved an appeal against the tribunal’s order before the Peshawar High Court which not only dismissed the appeal but also imposed a lifetime ban on his contesting election.
The petition said that the judgment of the Peshawar High Court failed to decide the question of qualification and disqualification of Musharraf in an objective manner; rather a subjective issue in hand caused miscarriage of justice.
“In these circumstances, it is very respectfully prayed that this court may very graciously grant leave to appeal and set aside the impugned judgment passed by the election tribunal and the Peshawar High Court,” the appeal stated
During the hearing, the counsel for Musharraf informed the court of ECP’s deadline to file nomination papers.
The bench directed the counsel to submit the nomination papers conditionally subject to the outcome of the top court’s final verdict on the instant appeal.
It is pertinent to mention here APML’s Dr Amjad had announced in a press conference that Musharraf had decided to return to Pakistan after Eidul Fitr.
He had, however, stated that exact date of his return would be announced after the Supreme Court’s decision on the instant appeal.
SC summons Musharraf on 13th
SYED SABEEHUL HUSSNAIN