LAHORE- Senior Advocate Muhammad Akram Sheikh, who is heading the prosecution team in the high treason case against former president-COAS Gen Pervez Musharraf, commenting on Friday’s episode of shouting and howling by some of the defence team members in the courtroom, said he was not willing to engage himself in any such encounters which belittle his professionalism or violate the code of conduct.
In a statement here on Saturday, he expressed his concern and shock over the conduct of a lawyer who has been practising law for the past 50 years, who served as secretary to the Quaid-i-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah, and who successfully pleaded for all military dictators.
Mr Sheikh said everybody else was only acting in accordance with the commandments of Syed Sharif-ud-din Pirzada.
The defence lawyers had threatened Mr Sheikh in the courtroom that they would break his legs and gouge out his eyes in case he said anything against the army.
Mr Sheikh said “it was a rhetorical technique named as “Argumentam ad Hominem” which means “when you have no logical basis for an argument, attack your opponent personally”.
A former president of the Supreme Court Bar, Mr Sheikh said he was dismayed, as he always held Mr Pirzada in high esteem being a lawyer of consequence. It was for this reason, he said, that he personally requested Mr Pirzada that cordiality should be ensured between the defence and prosecution teams. He hoped that Mr Pirzada would now come to the brass tacks and proceed with the case rather than engaging the special court in trivialities.
In a report, he said: “He presented with chest discomfort with prior history of left shoulder disease and cervical spine disease. No history of hypertension, diabetes and no prior history of precipitating or relieving factors for chest pain. His cardiac examination was perfectly normal, heart rate was described at 56 beats/min, which is normal (it was described as sinus bradycardia).
The electrocardiogram and cardiac enzymes were normal. Echocardiogram is normal, has good ejection fraction, which is most important predictor for good prognosis. Cardiac CT angiography shows calcifications, no impressive lumen narrowing, especially in the left mainstem. CT angiogram narrowing is usually less severe on actual coronary angiography. With this information, on routine practice, patient needs stress test before recommending coronary angiography. High calcium score without lumen narrowing is not an indication for coronary angiography. This patient is in the hospital since January 2nd, 2014, and continues to have normal electrocardiograms and cardiac biomarkers. Chance for serious cardiac disease is very low. His chest discomfort most likely is from cervical spine and shoulder disease. In my opinion, he is low risk for any serious cardiac event at this time.”