Judge's observation in Musharraf's case proved him 'incompetent': Farogh Naseem

ISLAMABAD: Federal Law Minister Dr Farogh Naseem on Thursday announced that the government will move a reference under Article-209 in the Supreme Judicial Council (SJC) against Justice Waqar Ahmed Seth, a special court judge, who had authored the verdict in Pervez Musharraf treason case, ARY News.

Addressing a joint press conference along with Special Assistant to PM on Information and Broadcasting Firdous Ashiq Awan and Special Assistant on Accountability Shahzad Akbar, Farogh Naseem said that the Judge’s observation in the case proved him incompetent.

Terming him ‘mentally ill’, he said that the government will plead the Supreme Judicial Council to restrain the judge from holding the court immediately. The minister said that the words used in verdict are unconstitutional and unlawful.

He noted, “I do not understand what need the judge had to give such an observation.”

The minister maintained, “There is no room in Article 6 of the Constitution, in the High Treason Act-1973, in the Criminal Amendment Act of the special court, 1976, for a judge to have the authority to present such an observation.”

Speaking on the occasion, Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Accountability Shahzad Akbar said it seemed that in Paragraph 66 of the detailed verdict, the judge had set the law and the constitution aside.

He said that the verdict had violated the international laws and added that it was important to find out that how the paragraph-66 was inserted in the judgment.

Earlier in the day, the federal government had decided to file a reference in the Supreme Judicial Council (SJC) against a Special Court judge, who awarded death sentence to the former president Pervez Musharraf in high treason case.

The decision had been taken during a meeting of media strategy chaired by Prime Minister Imran Khan in Islamabad.

Sources had said that during the meeting, the legal team of incumbent government had raised concern over the words used in the detailed verdict in high treason case against ex-army chief Pervez Musharraf. The special court verdict had created a sense of anarchy in the country.