Ex-Pakistan President Criminally Charged Over Detention of Judges
Less than two years ago, the former leader of Pakistan disbanded much of the country’s top court in what many saw as a blatant move to solidify his own political position by preventing a ruling that he was ineligible to serve simultaneously as president and head of the country’s military.
Today, ex-President Pervez Musharraf was criminally charged for allegedly illegally detaining judges after imposing what many considered military rule in November 2007, in a move that sparked months of lawyer-led national and even international protest, according to the Los Angeles Times and the New York Times.
A recent ruling by the restored Pakistan Supreme Court judges that Musharraf acted unconstitutionally by trying to take control of the country’s legal system in November 2007 is credited with providing a legal basis for the criminal case.
A retired major general who acts as a spokesman for Musharraf, however, describes the situation as reeking of a personal vendetta against the country’s former leader, and says he is shocked and horrified by the way the country’s political and legal fraternity is behaving, reports the Times.
Rashid Qureshi also cast doubt on the appropriateness of the July 31 ruling by the Pakistan Supreme Court concerning the constitutionality of Musharraf’s actions, telling the Times that “legal ethics demanded” that judges sacked by the former president “should not have been part of the supreme court bench” ruling on the constitutionality of Musharraf’s 2007 actions “as they themselves were involved.”
Musharraf, who is living in London, is not expected to return to face the case against him, even though he would likely be released on bail prior to trial.
Earlier coverage:
ABAJournal.com: “76 Pakistan Judges Suspended After Top Court Voids ‘07 Musharraf Actions”
