Govt decides to file reference against Justice Waqar Ahmed Seth in SJC

He said observation of Justice Waqar indicates that he is incompetent and unfit for the job.

ISLAMABAD (Dunya News) – Minister for Law Farogh Naseem on Thursday said that Federal Government has decided to file a reference in Supreme Judicial Council (SJC) against Special Court judge Justice Waqar Ahmed Seth for writing Para 66 in the detailed judgment of the high treason case against former President General (retired) Pervez Musharraf.

Addressing a press conference along with Special Assistant on Information and Broadcasting Firdous Ashiq Awan and Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Accountability and Interior Shahzad Akbar in Islamabad on Thursday, he said that Justice Waqar Ahmed s observation that law enforcement agencies should arrest Pervez Musharraf and if found dead his dead body should be hanged at D-Chowk in Islamabad for three days, which is against the law and the constitution, and also unprecedented as well as despicable.

The laws relating to the high treason, including Article 6 of the High Treason (Punishment) Act, 1973, and The Criminal Law Amendment (Special Court) Act, 1976, he said, did not permit any judge to pass such kind of observation that a person’s corpse should be dragged at a Chowk and then hanged there for three days.

He said there are two dissenting notes on the para, adding that the federal government has objection over conduct of the trial and it will go into appeal against the judgment.

The minister said public hanging is against the constitution and Islam.

“It is beyond my understanding that under what authority a judge can give such despicable and unethical observation in a case,” he remarked. It was not only a deviation from the Constitution, but also counter-productive for the people’s confidence in judiciary, he added.

“I request senior judges of the Supreme and high courts to restrain him from carrying out any administrative and judicial duties as his observation shows that he is mentally ill and incompetent,” he added.

He said the observation of Justice Waqar Ahmed indicates that he is incompetent and unfit for the job. He said the senior judges of the Supreme Court should restrain Justice Waqar Ahmed for any administrative and judicial work.

Speaking on the occasion, Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Accountability and Interior Shahzad Akbar said it is an issue of serious concern.

The special assistant said the federal government has objection over conduct of the trial and it will go into appeal against the judgment.

He said the federal government, and the Lahore and Islamabad high courts had pointed out that there were serious procedural and constitutional issues that needed to be rectified, but the same were totally ignored by the Special Court.

Detailed Verdict

Earlier today, a three-member bench of the special court headed by Justice Waqar Ahmed Seth issued detailed verdict of high treason case against former president and General (retd) Pervez Musharraf.

The registrar office of special court has handed over the copies of verdict, consisting 169 pages, to Pervez Musharraf’s lawyers and other parties in the case.

Justice Nazar Akbar opposed the verdict of sentencing Pervez Musharraf to death and cleared him of the accusations while Justice Waqar Seth and Justice Shahid Karim handed him the death penalty. The detailed verdict has been termed as first of its kind.

“We are of the considered view that the accused in this High Treason case has been afforded more than his due share of fair trial. The protected trial of a constitutional and not any ordinary offence that began six years ago in 2013, has yet to see its end in 2019. The accused, who has been given every opportunity to defend himself, has by his conduct in the proceedings only evinced his utter contempt for the law and legal institutions in this country. The facts of this case are well documented. The documents clearly demonstrate the guilt on the part of the accused. It proves beyond a shadow of reasonable doubt all the charges of High Treason leveled against accused by the State.

"It is patent by the act and conduct of the accused facing trial, that he has persistently and stubbornly strived ever since the commencement of this trial, to delay, retract and in fact evade it. It has been his plea throughout that either on account of ill health or for security hazards he could not reach up to this Court to face trial," said the judgement.

“As a necessary corollary to what has been observed we find the accused guilty as per charge. The convict be therefore hanged by his neck till he dies on each count as per charge.

“We direct the Law Enforcement Agencies to strive their level best to apprehend the fugitive/convict and to ensure that the punishment is inflicted as per law and if found dead, his corpse be dragged to the D-Chowk, Islamabad, Pakistan and be hanged for 03 days.”

Dissenting note

"I have respectfully gone through the proposed judgement authored by my brother Waqas Ahmad Seth J [...] with my humble comprehension of law and justice, I happened to dissent with majority view of my learned brothers," said Justice Akbar in his dissenting note.

"In the offence under Article 6 of the Constitution, the charging word is high treason , therefore, without properly appreciating what does it mean, this court cannot pass a just and fair verdict."

"But for this reason, both the learned counsel for the prosecution and my learned brothers have referred to the definition of high treason by relying on the meaning of high treason given in the Oxford Dictionary (Tenth Edition)."

Pervez Musharraf slams verdict

Former president General (retd) Pervez Musharraf termed the special court’s verdict dubious, saying that no precedent can be found for such a decision where neither the accused nor his lawyer were given the fundamental right to defend the case.

In a statement issued by Pervez Musharraf, he expressed: "I heard the special court’s decision on TV, and it was an indefinite verdict which deliberately targeted only one person in the proceedings”.

He said that he greatly respects the Pakistani judiciary, but this is the first time in history that a special court has given such a verdict. “I even offered to record a statement before the special commission, but my statement was ignored and not recorded”, he added.

Pervez Musharraf expressed that he was targeted by officials who hold high positions. He went on to say that the case was heard because of some personal outrage while those judges who benefitted in his tenure are misusing their position against him. “The choice of events according to their intentions shows what these people want,” he asserted , adding that he is grateful to the army and the public for remembering his services.

Pak Army expresses "pain and anguish" over the verdict

Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) Director General Major General Asif Ghafoor on Tuesday said that the special court verdict in the Pervez Musharraf treason case has been received with “alot of pain and anguish within the rank and file of Pakistan armed forces”.

The statement comes after sources said a meeting of the top military leadership was underway at the General Headquarters in Rawalpindi in the wake of the judgement.

The DG ISPR statement said that an ex-Army Chief, Chairman Joint Chief of Staff Committee and President of Pakistan, who has served the country for over 40 years, fought wars for the defense of the country can surely never be a traitor.