Musharraf to be presented before anti-terrorism court
Former president Pervez Musharraf will be presented before anti-terrorism court today.
RAWALPINDI (Dunya News) - The former military ruler Gen (retd) Pervez Musharraf will be presented before the anti-terrorism court today.
Earlier, Pervez Musharraf was shifted to the police headquarters in Islamabad from his farmhouse residence at Chak Shahzad on Friday, hours after the former military ruler surrendered himself to the authorities in the judges’ detention case.
He surrendered himself earlier today before appearing in the court of judicial magistrate Raja Abbas Shah in Islamabad.
The judge issued an order for a two-day-long transit remand of Musharraf. The order also added clause 780-A pertaining to terrorism in the list of charges against the former army strongman.
Meawnhile, the law ministry has issued the notification to form an anti-terrorism court in the federal capital. According to the notification, Session Judge Kausar Abbas Zaidi has been given the additional charge of the anti-terrorism court’s judge.
During the hearing today, petitioner’s counsel, Advocate Mohammad Bilal Mughal, requested the court for a 15-day-long physical remand of the former president, whereas Musharraf’s lawyer, Qamar Afzal, asked for a judicial remand for his client.
The court observed that the list of charges against Musharraf in the judges’ detention case entailed terrorism clauses which was why bail could not be granted to the retired general without him surrendering to authorities.
Moreover, police told the court that Musharraf’s life was in danger which was why his farmhouse residence needed to be declared a sub-jail.
Subsequently, the court added clause 780-A to the list of charges against Musharraf and ordered a two-day-long transit remand for the former president. An official at the court confirmed the order.
A spokesman for Musharraf’s All Pakistan Muslim League (APML) party said: “General Musharraf has been sent on a two-day judicial remand and he will stay at his farmhouse.”
APML spokesman Muhammad Amjad said the magistrate had ordered Musharraf to appear before an anti-terrorism court in Rawalpindi after two days.
“Musharraf himself surrendered before the court Friday morning,” Amjad said, denying media reports that he had been arrested prior to going to court.
It is the first time that the judiciary has ordered the arrest of a former army chief of staff.
Musharraf had been on the run after fleeing from the premises of the Islamabad High Court in the wake of the cancellation of his bail on Thursday. Twenty-four hours had passed since Musharraf’s escape from the IHC.
His bail was cancelled in the judges’ detention case by IHC’s Justice Shaukat Aziz Siddiqui on Thursday.
In its written judgement, the IHC had ordered that: “He (Musharraf) be taken into custody and dealt with in accordance with law.”
