Islamabad will ask a judicial authority to remove the head judge in ex-President Pervez Musharraf’s treason case, after the verdict ordering for his dead body to be hanged in public sparking public backlash.
Musharraf, 76, was sentenced to death in absentia on Tuesday, after a three-judge panel found him guilty of treason for imposing a state of emergency and suspending the constitution in 2007.
The detailed, 169-page judgement was released on Thursday, and immediately spawn controversy due to paragraph 66, buried deep in the text. Included by the president of the panel, Peshawar High Court Chief Justice Waqar Ahmad Seth, the paragraph states that if ailing Musharraf passes away before getting executed, his dead body “(should) be dragged to D-Chowk [a square outside Pakistani parliament], Islamabad, Pakistan, and be hanged for three days.”
Prime Minister Imran Khan’s government, which indicated it would side with Musharraf’s lawyers in the looming appeal process, came out swinging after the text was released. Law Minister Farogh Naseem denounced the bizarre order as an “unprecedented and despicable observation by the judge.”
Naseem said that the government would take the issue to the Supreme Judicial Council and ask it to strip the judge of his authority, as it believes Seth is unfit to carry out his duties.
“If a judge gives such a judgment then such a judge is mentally unfit and incompetent.”
The order to parade Musharraf’s corpse has sent waves across Pakistan, drawing condemnation from the Pakistani legal community and netizens alike. Some legal experts argued that while the judgment might have been warranted, the all too specific hanging instructions have put the “historic” verdict in jeopardy, robbing it of its value.
“What sort of insanity was going through the mind of Justice Seth? You are supposed to uphold the rule of law, not the rule of the lynch mob,” lawyer Hassan A. Niazi tweeted, while another legal expert, Zafar Zulqarnain Sahi blasted it as the “worst para[graph] in judgement” ever made by a court.
This shall go down in history as the worst para in a judgment. Notwithstanding the contempt of court may I say this is plain stupid. https://t.co/c3XEAE9rui
Some argued that the inclusion of what some may see as vindictive language in the verdict could only increase Musharraf’s chances for a successful appeal.
“This deserves no place in any legal system. Also, if you’re into betting, you can make a good bet because of this, the case will be remanded,” Lawyer Waqqas Mir tweeted.
This is terrible and unnecessary. Judges do a disservice to their office as well as the law itself when they engage in such rhetoric. This deserves no place in any legal system. Also, if you’re into betting, you can make a good bet because of this the case will be remanded. pic.twitter.com/pVaslCNPr6
While many netizens have been unequally up in arms over the wording straight out of the middle ages…
This is outrageous. Its absolute provocation and personal vendetta in the garb of an order. Under what law Justice Waqar Ahmad Seth presiding over the Special Court ordered Muharraf's corpse to be dragged to the D-Chowk and be hanged there for 3-days? Rapists ko to latkaya ni gya pic.twitter.com/5uK4xw9CuH
… others pointed out that the hanging recommendation was not a part of the court order, but the panel’s leader comment that somehow made its way into the final judgment.
A good judgement in Treason Case is being questioned on the harsh point "dragging & hanging D-Chowk" whereas its merely a comment of a judge, not verdict.
The other judge who agreed with Justice Seth Waqar has disagreed with him on this point.
