KARACHI: The counsel for retired general Pervez Musharraf on Tuesday told the Sindh High Court that the federal government wanted to inflict capital punishment on the former president, as it was bent upon getting him convicted in a high treason case by fabricating evidence.

Advocate Farogh Naseem filed a rejoinder to the government’s stance of not allowing Musharraf to leave the country stating “it is the government’s desire to afflict capital punishment” on the former military ruler, while there was no evidence to involve him in the maliciously constituted cases.

Terming the government reply distortion of law and facts aimed at misleading the court, the counsel asked the court to reject the interior ministry’s request for the dismissal of Musharraf’s application against the restriction on his travel out of the country.

The interior ministry in its comments on Musharraf’s plea contended that the high court had no territorial jurisdiction to hear the matter as the name of the former military ruler was placed on the exit control list on the orders of the Supreme Court of Pakistan.

Rejecting the interior ministry’s arguments questioning the high court jurisdiction to take up the matter, Advocate Naseem said the court was lawfully empowered to proceed with the matter and to interpret the judgement of the apex court.

Accordingly, he contended, the SHC had the jurisdiction to interpret the orders of the Supreme Court and order the removal of the former military ruler’s name from the exit control list. The counsel argued that the former chief of army staff had not been found guilty of high treason under Article 6 or any other crime so far. He said it was unreasonable to place his name on the ECL.

In its reply to Musharraf’s application, the interior ministry stated that the former president might move the apex court for getting his name withdrawn from the ECL. The application for the removal of restriction on Musharraf’s travel out of the country was filed by his attorney, retired brigadier Akhtar Zamin, who impleaded the interior secretary, director general, regional director and additional director (immigration) of of the Federal Investigation Agency as respondents.

At a previous hearing, Advocate Naseem had told the SHC that the retired general wanted to visit his ailing mother in Dubai, but the federal government had disallowed him from leaving the country by placing his name on the ECL on April 5 last year without any cogent reasons.

He said trial courts had confirmed Musharraf’s bail in all cases including those pertaining to the killing of former prime minister Benazir Bhutto and Baloch nationalist leader Nawab Akbar Bugti.

He said Gen Musharraf moved two applications to the interior ministry seeking permission to travel out of the country. But they were dismissed ‘illegally’ and ‘unconstitutionally’ on April 2, he said. He added that the restriction on Musharraf’s travel was against the right of the freedom of movement and other fundamental rights guaranteed under Articles 9, 14, and 15 of the constitution.

The matter will come up for hearing before a division bench of the Sindh High Court on Wednesday (today).

KMC joins Bahria Town in legal battle

The Karachi Metropolitan Corporation on Tuesday joined Bahria Town in the legal battle over the construction of a flyover and two underpasses in Clifton, as the Sindh High Court directed the federal environment ministry, Sindh chief secretary, Defence Housing Authority and others to submit their respective comments on a KMC appeal against the suspension of construction work on the project.

On April 29, construction work on the project of the flyover and underpasses was ordered to be stopped by a single bench of the SHC on a DHA lawsuit against the project. The Bahria Town had already impugned the single bench’s restraining order through an appeal.

The KMC filed the appeal through its director-general (technical) challenging the stay order on construction work on the project.

The applicant KMC, represented by Advocate Farooq H. Naik, submitted that huge investment had been made on the project and the entire excavation — major portion of the work — had been completed.

Besides investment, the counsel for the KMC said, a lot of hardship had been caused to the commuters who were provided with the alternative routes.

The project would ameliorate traffic congestion around the area of Park Towers and the shrine of Hazrat Abdullah Shah Ghazi, he said, adding that the project was of national importance and the suspension of work was not only causing great inconvenience to general public but also colossal loss to the KMC.

A division bench, headed by Justice Irfan Saadat Khan, directed the respondents to file their respective comments and put off the hearing to May 14.