ISLAMABAD – The Supreme Court ordered former president Pervez Musharraf on Monday to appear before a special court hearing a treason case against him otherwise he would lose the right of defence.
A three-member bench of the apex court headed by Chief Justice Asif Saeed Khosa was hearing a petition filed by a lawyer, Taufeeq Asif, who highlighted that the proceedings of the treason case had come to a halt due to the absence of Musharraf who had not returned to the country since 2016.
The top court announced that if Musharraf does not appear before the special court on May 2, he would lose his right to record a statement under Section 342 of the Code of Criminal Procedures (CrPC) and the court should give its decision based on the prosecution’s arguments.
Moreover, the court noted that if Musharraf appears in the court, all the facilities would remain available to him.
In the previous hearing of the petition, the apex court had said that it would intervene if the special court fails to make a decision on how to record the former president’s statement.
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During today’s hearing, the chief justice remarked that if a suspect is absent on purpose, any action that follows will not be viewed on the pretext of an absence.
“A fugitive has no rights,” the top judge remarked and opined that if the former president did not appear before the court despite giving commitments in this regard, something should be done.
Justice Khosa remarked that a trial becomes unconstitutional in the absence of a suspect but if a suspect doesn’t turn up on purpose, he can not be allowed to take advantage of the situation.
“High treason is not an average crime,” Justice Khosa addressed the defence counsel.
The prosecutor informed the bench that the case was not taking place in the absence of the former president, adding that Musharraf was present in the court when he was indicted.
The prosecutor contended that after Musharraf was summoned, the former president had given assurances of appearing before the court.
A March 28 order of the special court, summoning Musharraf to court on May 2, was also presented before the bench today.
A special court had indicted Musharraf for high treason in March 2014. The former president left for Dubai in 2016 for medical treatment but did not return back.
During the last hearing, Musharraf’s counsel told the special court that the former president wished to appear in court on May 13, however, a three-member bench headed by Justice Tahira Safdar had directed Musharraf to appear in court before Ramazan.
