Supreme Court declares Nov 3 steps unconstitutional

The Supreme Court of Pakistan Friday declared the steps taken on November 3, 2007 by former president Gen (R) Pervez Musharraf unconstitutional thereby opening doors for potential case of treason against him.

Charges of treason can only be brought against him by the parliament. The Chief Justice yesterday clarified this issue stating such matters are upto the parliament to take up and not the judiciary.

Musharraf, who came to power in a coup in 1999, quit as president almost a year ago to avoid impeachment and has been living in London for the past two months.

Some argue that holding Musharraf accountable would deter military strongmen from trying to seize power in the future and give a chance for democratic institutions to grow in a country that has spent about half its existence under army rule.

The flip side is that pursuing Musharraf could shake the political establishment and reopen old wounds at a time when Pakistan faces huge tasks in battling Taliban insurgents and reviving its economy.

The judgment came after the 14-judge larger bench headed by Chief Justice of Pakistan Justice Iftikhar Muhammed Chaudhry completed the hearing of constitutional petitions regarding PCO judges, appointments of judges of higher judiciary and November 3, 2007 steps.

The Supreme Court in its short verdict declared the steps of November 3, 2007 taken by former president Pervez Musharraf as unconstitutional. Article 279 of the Constitution was violated on November 3, 2007, it said.

It termed as illegal and unconstitutional the sacking of Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry and the other higher judiciary as well as the appointment of Justice Abdul Hamid Dogar as chief justice.

The oath taken by President Asif Ali Zardari will not be affected by the SC verdict, it said.

All the appointments made in the higher judiciary of Justice Abdul Hamid Dogar have been termed illegal.

It termed as unconstitutional all the appointments of judges during November 3, 2007 to March 24, 2008.

It said the number of Supreme Court judges will continue to remain 16.

It declared unconstitutional all the steps taken by Pervez Musharraf during November 3, 2007 to December 15, 2007 including the increasing of number of superior judges through finance bill.Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry announced the verdict.

The verdict said all the appointments of judges on and after November 3, 2007 under PCO were unconstitutional.

The case of PCO judges will be referred to the Supreme Judicial Council, it said.

The announcement of today’s verdict sent a wave of jubilation outside the Supreme Court and at all the bar associations countrywide.

Sweets were distributed as people and lawyers chanted slogans hailing the decision and in support of the judiciary.

The 14-judge larger bench headed by Chief Justice of Pakistan Justice Iftikhar Muhammed Chaudhry reserved the judgment after completing the hearing of the case and announced it after a delay of over four and a half hours.