SC upholds Musharraf’s death sentence in treason case

ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court of Pakistan upheld the death sentence of late former military ruler Pervez Musharraf, awarded to him by the Special Court in the high treason case.

Announcing the short order, Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Qazi Faez Isa said, “The impugned passed on January 13, 2020 by the Lahore High Court (LHC) […] is not sustainable and accordingly set aside.”

In January 2020, the LHC declared unconstitutional all actions taken by the government against Musharraf, including the filing of a complaint on high treason charge and the formation and proceedings of a special court, leading to the abolition of the death penalty handed down to him.

The order comes as a four-judge SC bench took up a set of appeals against the Jan 13, 2020 LHC order declaring unconstitutional the death sentence awarded to Musharraf on Dec 17, 2019.

Justice Syed Mansoor Ali Shah, Justice Aminuddin Khan and Justice Athar Minallah were other bench members hearing the appeals, including one filed by the late military dictator.

While hearing the case in November, CJP Isa had assailed the LHC for knowingly overlooking earlier decisions of the apex court through its 2020 judgment. In a subsequent hearing, the top observed that it addressed issues beyond the scope of the initial petition.

In another hearing, Justice Minallah had remarked that the judges who granted legal cover to Musharraf’s martial law should be tried in court.

During the hearing on Wednesday, Hamid Khan and Musharraf’s counsel Salman Safdar appeared before the court. The court dismissed the set of appeals, noting that “despite attempting to do so, Musharraf’s legal heirs could not be contacted”.