SC upholds death sentence of Pervez Musharraf

ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court on Wednesday upheld the death sentence of late former military ruler Pervez Musharraf, awarded to him by the Special Court in the high treason case.

Announcing the short order, Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Qazi Faez Isa said, “The impugned passed on January 13, 2020 by the Lahore High Court (LHC) […] is not sustainable and accordingly set aside.”

In January 2020, the LHC had declared unconstitutional all actions taken by the government against Musharraf, including the filing of a complaint on high treason charge and the formation of a special court as well as its proceedings, leading to the abolition of the death penalty handed down to him.

The order comes as a four-judge SC bench took up a set of appeals against the Jan 13, 2020 LHC order declaring unconstitutional the death sentence awarded to Musharraf on Dec 17, 2019.

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Justice Syed Mansoor Ali Shah, Justice Aminuddin Khan and Justice Athar Minallah were other bench members hearing the appeals, including one filed by the late military dictator.

During the hearing today, Hamid Khan and Musharraf’s counsel Salman Safdar appeared before the court.

The court dismissed the set of appeals, noting that “despite attempting to do so, Musharraf’s legal heirs could not be contacted”.