The 11-judge Bench of the Supreme Court on Thursday began regular hearing on the petition challenging the eligibility of President General Musharraf to contest election after another abortive attempt by petitioner’s panel of lawyers to delay the case in the hope of getting a full court hearing.
Chaudhry Aitzaz Ahsan, lead counsel for presidential candidate Justice Wajihuddin, requested the Bench to defer hearing till the final detailed order by another larger Bench was available to him to base his argument. The Bench had dismissed, by a majority of 6-3, similar petitions by opposition leaders Imran Khan and Qazi Hussain Ahmed ruling them as non-maintainable because the petitioners were not directly affected.
Presiding judge Javed Iqbal said the second senior-most judge of the SC, who had led that the Bench, was currently out of country. The detailed judgement would be announced immediately after he returns, he said. Rana and two other judges had upheld the petitions and pronounced General Musharraf was not eligible to be a candidate for being army chief. They were supported by a fourth judge Justice Falak Sher, who otherwise voted down the petition for not
maintainable. The remaining five are also members of the present Bench as well.
Initiating arguments, Aitzaz Ahsan said General Musharraf was barred by the constitution to be a candidate for any elective public office.
When Justice Iqbal asked if the 17th amendment had not removed the bar, Ahsan said no.
Aitzaz contended that the 17th amendment provided an exception to Musharraf to retain the office of army chief through an act of parliament till November 2007, besides the presidency.
“But it did not remove the ban on him as army chief to contest election or take part in any political activity after that date."
On an query by a judge whether Musharraf’s pledge to take off uniform by November 15 would qualify him to stay as President in accordance with the election held on October 6, Ahsan said the pledge had no validity to qualify him.
“The constitution provides that only a Muslim can become President of Pakistan," Ahsan argued. “It is like a non-Muslim saying he should be allowed to contest while promising that he would become a Muslim if elected,” he said emphasising that such a promise to embrace Islam at a later date would not qualify him to contest.
Aitzaz Ahsan, who is a prominent member of the Pakistan People's Party, was due to leave for Karachi on Wednesday to receive party chairperson Benazir Bhutto on her arrival on Thursday. He had to return from the airport on learning that the Chief Justice had turned down their plea for the formation of a full court and directed the resumption of the hearing. He left this afternoon.
The court adjourned the hearing till Monday while Ahsan was still on his feet.
