ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court issued on Tuesday a detailed order on a case regarding the removal of former president Pervez Musharraf’s name from the Exit Control List (ECL), Express News reported.
In the four-page verdict, written by Justice Nasirul Mulk, the apex court raised five questions:
1) Was the court’s April 8, 2013, decision interim?
2) On the basis of integration of law, was the interim decision included in the final decision?
3) Can the Sindh High Court (SHC) suspend the April 5, 2013, decision to put Musharraf’s name on the ECL?
4) Can Musharraf be allowed to travel abroad without changing the court order?
5) Is the government’s decision to put Musharraf’s name on the ECL according to the 2010 rules?
On June 23, the top court had suspended the SHC’s June 12 verdict regarding the removal of the former president’s name from the ECL.
The SHC had ordered the government to remove Musharraf’s name from the ECL. However, it had also granted a 15-day time period in which federal government could file an appeal in the SC against the order.
Ghazi murder case
Earlier today, exempting Musharraf from appearing in person today, a court in Islamabad ordered him and his guarantor to be present during the next hearing of the Abdul Rasheed Ghazi murder case at all costs.
The exemption was given in response to a request filed by Musharraf’s legal team.
Additional District and Sessions Judge Wajid Ali Khan heard the case today and said that legal action will be taken if Musharraf fails to appear before the court on July 23 — the date of the next hearing.
Musharraf has been accused of murdering former ‘prayer leader’ of Lal Masjid Abdul Rasheed Ghazi during the infamous 2007 operation.
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During the hearing of the case, Musharraf’s lawyer Akhtar Shah submitted his client’s medical report, requesting for exemption.
He argued that according to the report, which was prepared by a team of five doctors from a private hospital in Karachi, Musharraf cannot travel.
Shah also argued that Musharraf cannot appear before the court because of security reasons, adding that the defence was not asking for permanent exemption.
On September 2, 2013, a case was registered against Musharraf for the murder of the former cleric and his mother during the Lal Masjid operation.
The case was filed after Haroon Rasheed, Ghazi’s son, submitted an application at the Aabpara police station for the registration of an FIR against the former president for involvement in the death of Haroon’s father and grandmother.
In the application, Haroon had referred to about 20 pages of the Lal Masjid Commission report, which held the former president responsible for the operation.
First Published In Tribune , 1st July, 2014.
