ISLAMABAD: The special court, constituted to try former military ruler General Pervez Musharraf on high treason charges, has rejected the plea pertaining to try the accused in a military court under the army act.
The court has ordered Musharraf to appear on March 11 and he is likely to be indicted the same day.
In its order, the court stated that the army act referred in the plea has expired and can not be applied to the accused after retirement.
Musharraf, who appeared before the special court in the last hearing on Tuesday, avoided indictment on the request of his legal team, pleading that the jurisdiction of the special court should be decided first and the case be referred to a military court..
The three-member special court bench headed by Justice Faisal Arab and comprising Justice Tahira Safdar and Justice Yawar Ali heard the federation’s appeal for initiating a treason trial against Musharraf for subverting the Constitution while issuing the proclamation of emergency rule on November 3, 2007.
The court in its order ruled that they will first decide the application challenging the jurisdiction of this court before further proceedings.
The court adjourned the hearing till today, ruling that the decision on the two applications, including jurisdiction of the court as well as transferring the trial to a military court, will be announced on February 21.
Source: Pakistani Local News Channel
