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Thursday, May 23, 2013
Court rejects Musharraf bail in judges’ detention caseISLAMABAD: A court on Wednesday refused bail to former military ruler Pervez Musharraf over the detention of judges during his 1999-2008 rule, the state prosecutor said.
The ruling came two days after a court granted bail to Musharraf over the murder of former prime minister Benazir Bhutto, who was killed in a gun and bomb attack in 2007. The retired general has been detained in his farmhouse on the edge of the capital Islamabad since April 19 on charges of conspiracy to murder Benazir and over the judges’ detention case. “Judge of the anti-terrorism court rejected Pervez Musharraf’s bail application after listening to defence and prosecution,” public prosecutor Aamir Nadeem Tabish told AFP, adding that Musharraf can appeal to the high court.
Court official Mohammad Aslam Joya confirmed bail was refused in the case which relates to the sacking and detention of judges when Musharraf imposed emergency rule in 2007. In his arguments, Tabish added that judges and their family members had been detained in their homes for months, their children were not allowed to appear in examinations and that the charges against the former army strongman were of a serious nature, and therefore he should not be granted bail. He further said that the emergency imposed by Musharraf in the country on November 3, 2007 was detrimental not only to the judges but for the public at large.
However, Musharraf’s counsel, Ilyas Siddiqui, claimed that his client never gave the order to detain judges, adding that there was no proof against him. Tabish also told the court that he had been appointed public prosecutor in the case only until the court’s ruling on Musharraf’s bail plea, and that he had no authority to present a charge sheet in the case. agencies
Courtesy www.dailytimes.com.pk