Mirza Shahzad Akbar, the adviser to PM Imran Khan on accountability, has apologised for criticising the head of a special court, which had sentenced former president Pervez Musharraf to death on treason charges in 2019.
Akbar appeared in the Peshawar High Court on Thursday and submitted an unconditional apology. He said his intention was not to criticise the court.
The court was hearing a contempt case against Akbar, Firdous Ashiq Awan, and Fawad Chaudhry for their criticism of the judgement.
The bench, comprising Justice Roohul Amin Khan Chamkani and Justice Mohammad Nasir Mehfooz, said that ministers and special assistants must respect the decision of the courts. “People can’t say whatever they want and they must respect the sanctity of courts,” said a judge.
Former attorney-general Anwar Mansoor Khan told the court that he doesn’t know why he has been named as a respondent in the case.
“You were serving a responsible post and you could’ve stopped them,” Justice Chamkani said.
The court has issued notices to Fawad Chaudhry and Firdous Ashiq Awan for the second time.
Musharraf’s death sentence
On December 17, 2019 a special bench sentenced former dictator Pervez Musharraf to death in a treason case under Article 6 of the Constitution. The law states that any person who abrogates or suspends the Constitution “by use of force or show of force” is guilty of high treason.
The three-member bench, comprising Peshawar High Court Chief Justice Waqar Ahmad Seth, Justice Shahid Karim of the Lahore High Court and Sindh High Court’s Justice Nazar Akbar, announced the verdict after two judges voted in favour of giving him a death penalty while one opposed it.
Musharraf was indicted in the case in March 2014 for suspending the Constitution in 2007. In 2016, he left to seek medical treatment in Dubai and hasn’t returned since.
Samaa Tv