Peshawar High Court Summons Imran Khan's Aide, Federal Ministers Over Contempt of Court

Peshawar, November 27: The Peshawar High Court on Thursday summoned two federal ministers, and one of Prime Minister Imran Khan's aides over two identical petitions seeking their prosecution for committing contempt of a special court, which had awarded the death sentence to former President Pervez Musharraf last year for high treason.

A bench ordered the alleged contemnors, including federal ministers Barrister Farogh Naseem and Fawad Chaudhry, special assistant to the prime minister Mirza Shahzad Akbar, former aide to the premier Dr Firdous Ashiq Awan and former attorney general Anwar Mansoor Khan to appear before it on the next hearing to be fixed later, reported Dawn. Also Read | Mohsen Fakhrizadeh-Mahabadi Assassination: Iran Suspects Israel’s Role, Asks International Community to Condemns ‘Act of State Terror’.

The bench was hearing two identical petitions filed by lawyers Malik Ajmal Khan and Syed Azizuddin Kakakhel under Article 204 of the Constitution and Contempt of Court Ordinance, 2003.

The bench wondered why the alleged contemnors were not appearing before it in the case, to which the Deputy Attorney General (DAG) claimed that they had never been summoned.

He further requested the court to decide the application for the rejection of petitions first instead of holding proceedings in petitions. However, the bench observed that the respondents except Prime Minister Imran Khan should appear before it on the next hearing.

According to Dawn, although Khan is also a respondent in the petitions, the high court has so far not sought his reply in the case. Apart from prosecuting the contemnors, petitioner Syed Azizuddin has also requested the court to disqualify the prime minister and other respondents from holding any public office for committing contempt of court.

The petitioners said the federal government had constituted a special court after filing a complaint against retired General Pervez Musharraf. They further said that Musharraf was declared a proclaimed offender followed by many opportunities given to him but he did not turn up and the case went on culminating into his conviction and sentence of death on Dec 17, 2019.

They also alleged that except the prime minister, the other five respondents had levelled different allegations against the president of the special court, Justice Waqar Ahmad Seth, who was the then chief justice of the Peshawar High Court, and thus, were trying to scandalise him. Also Read | UK PM Boris Johnson Speaks with PM Narendra Modi on COVID-19 Vaccines, Climate Change and Trade.

Dawn reported the petitioners saying that those respondents were subordinate to the prime minister and under the Rules of Business, they were answerable to him, but the premier neither took any action against them nor was any clarification issued in this regard, proving that he was also involved with them in the commission of the contempt of court.

The special court had heard the treason case against Musharraf and handed him death sentence on December 17, last year, after finding him guilty of treason. Following this, a set of petitions was filed by Musharraf in the Lahore High Court, asking the court to set aside the special court's verdict for being illegal, without jurisdiction and unconstitutional.

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