DHAKA: An intra-court appeal was submitted on Tuesday in the Islamabad High Court against the formation of a special court to try former president Pervez Musharraf for treason.

The appeal filed by Riaz Hanif Rahi said that the special court was formed in violation of the Constitution and the law and made the law ministry, the interior ministry, the special court`s registrar and Director General Federal Investigative Agency (FIA) parties in the case.

On November 18, Pakistan interior minister Chaudhry Nisar broke the news that the government under Article 6 of the Constitution would initiate a treason trial against the former army strongman.

The same month, the Supreme Court accepted the government’s request to set up a special tribunal to try Musharraf for high treason. Later on December 4, IHC’s Justice Noorul Haq Qureshi had also disposed a petition challenging the formation of the special court to try Musharraf.

During the proceedings of the treason trial on December 13, the special court summoned Musharraf to appear before it on December 24, the date of the upcoming hearing.

The former president is charged with abrogating, subverting, suspending, holding in abeyance and attempting to conspire against the 1973 Constitution by declaring emergency and overthrowing the superior judiciary in November 2007.

It will be the first time in Pakistan’s history that a former military dictator will face a treason trial, reports dawn.com.

BDST: 1736 HRS, DEC 17, 2013
Edited by Robab Rosan, Current Affairs Editor