Sindh High Court orders notice to Musharraf to be published in UK papers

[Naveed Yaseen]

The Sindh High Court (SHC) ordered the publication of notice to former President General (retd) Pervez Musharraf through widely circulated newspapers in the United Kingdom (UK).

The court was hearing a petition seeking action against Musharraf, former Attorney General Malik Abdul Qayyum and Sharifuddin Pirzada for allegedly committing a conspiracy to subvert the Constitution.

Petitioner Maulvi Iqbal Haider submitted that Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry and other judges of the superior courts were restored to their original position on November 3, 2007 through a notification issued on March 17, 2009.

He said that this clearly showed that the proclamation of emergency and of the Provisional Constitution Order (PCO) promulgated by the then President Musharraf had no legal effect and all those who supported the former president should be liable to be proceeded against for committing high treason and punished accordingly.

The petitioner submitted that the Supreme Court has also declared the November 3 PCO as illegal and unconstitutional. He submitted that Musharraf was not served a notice, as he is currently living in the UK. He prayed to the court to order service of notice to Musharraf through publications, as prior notices were not served to him.

The SHC’s division bench comprising Chief Justice Sarmad Jalal Osmany and Justice Sajjad Ali Shah allowing application ordered publication of notice to Musharraf through widely circulated newspapers in the UK and fixed the matter after the winter vacations. Qayyum’s counsel Rizwan Siddiqui undertook to file counter affidavit on the next hearing.

http://www.thenews.com.pk/daily_detail.asp?id=210608