KARACHI, 3 August — The Sindh High Court has upheld the decision of Pakistan’s military chief, Gen. Pervez Musharraf to become the president of the country. He (Musharraf) had made no amendments to the constitution, the fundamental document governing the country, and had donned the mantle of political leadership through an order, the court said in a judgment released through the official Associated Pakistan Press news agency.
Judges, delivering the verdict on a private petition, were Chief Justice Saiyed Ashhad Ali, and his colleague on the bench, Justice S.A. Sarwana. Musharraf became the president on June 20, barely a month before he ventured out to India for summit talks with Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee.
A couple of mavericks, lawyer, Sohail Hameed Gul, and education officer, Gul Muhammad Hajano, had run to the court, asking the judges to strip him of his new authority, but their lordships observed that “no amendment in the Constitution of Pakistan was made by Gen. Pervez Musharraf for enabling him to assume the office of the president of Pakistan which he assumed on the basis of order by him in pursuance of the proclamation of the bench referred to the speech made by the new president, who is also the chief executive of the country, apart from being the army chief.”
They said that “Gen. Musharraf in his speech after assuming the oath of office of the president of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan has specifically stated that the action to remove President Rafiq Tarar and his assumption of office of office of the president was necessary for speeding up and effectively enforcing his policies for obtaining and achieving the declared objects relating to the good governance, combating corruption and improved economic and financial conditions and enabling him to hold elections before Oct. 12, 2002, as per mandate of the Supreme Court of Pakistan.”
It may also be pointed that according to the pronouncement by the Supreme Court, respondent (president of Pakistan) is under obligation to hold elections and to hand over power to the elected representatives on or before Oct. 12, 2002, the Bench held adding that “It is not at all material as to whether he continued to act as CEO only or also held office of the president of Pakistan”.
After discussing the issues raised by the petitioner that removal of Tarar was unconstitutional and assumption of office of president by CEO tantamounts to basic amendment in the Constitution of Pakistan and thus illegal, the bench brushed aside all the contentions and dismissed both the petitions “in limine.” It held that the petitioners have no locus standi to move these petitions which are not maintainable.
