ISLAMABAD: The death sentence imposed on former president General (retd) Pervez Musharraf in a “high treason case” by a special court in 2019 was maintained by the Supreme Court on Wednesday.
The hearing was conducted by a four-member bench led by Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Qazi Faez Isa and consisting of Justices Mansoor Ali Shah, Aminuddin Khan, and Athar Minallah.
The former ruler was sentenced to death on December 17, 2019, by a special court under Article 6 of the Constitution. The case was brought against him for high treason during the tenure of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) because of his “unconstitutional” decision to declare an emergency in November 2007.
The judgment rendered by the special court established to hear the high treason case under Article 6 was deemed “unconstitutional” by the Lahore High Court (LHC) on January 13, 2020.
Subsequently, Taufeeq Asif and the Pakistan Bar Council, among other prominent attorneys, contested the LHC ruling.
Today, the court declared that the former ruler’s appeal against the death sentence he received was unsuccessful due to non-compliance, and it deferred its decision.
Rejecting the former president’s appeal, the SC stated, “Pervez Musharraf’s heirs did not follow the case even on multiple notices.”
Salman Safdar, the attorney for Musharraf, stated that he attempted to get in touch with Musharraf’s family once the court agreed to hear the appeal, but the family never got back to him.
In addition, the court stated that the LHC’s ruling was illegal and deemed the verdict to be “null and void”.
Despite the military ruler’s passing on February 5, 2023, the Supreme court made its decision.
