By Muhammad Najeeb, IANS
Islamabad : Pakistan’s revamped Supreme Court Monday summoned President Pervez Musharraf on a petition filed against the declaration of emergency by him in his capacity as the Chief of Army Staff.
A full bench of the apex court was hearing a petition filed by lawyer Tikka Iqbal, who argued that only the president and not the Chief of the Army Staff has the authority to enforce the emergency.
The court issued notices to the concerned parties and adjourned its hearing till Nov 15.
According to court sources, issuing notices to the concerned parties was a routine matter.
Musharraf in his capacity as the army chief imposed emergency Nov 3 and promulgated the Provisional Constitutional Order (PCO) by putting the 1973 Constitution in abeyance.
After the PCO, the services of all judges of the supreme and high courts were terminated and they were asked to take oath under the new order. However, more than 60 judges of the superior courts refused allegiance to Musharraf and did not take oath.
The new Chief Justice of Pakistan, Justice Abdul Hameed Dogar, constituted the full court bench to hear the case against the imposition of emergency.
The bench will first discuss the admissibility of the petition against the emergency. Usually the Attorney General or any other lawyer appointed by the president represents him in the courts.
Meanwhile, Attorney General Malik Mohammad Qayyum said Monday that the Supreme Court is likely to resume hearings next week on petitions challenging Musharraf’s re-election as president.
He said two more judges would be sworn in as Supreme Court justices on Tuesday, bringing the total to 11. That is the number that was considering the case before Musharraf imposed emergency, when he sacked the chief justice and eight other apex court judges.
“I believe that since an 11-member bench was hearing the case before the imposition of emergency rule, (new) Chief Justice Abdul Hameed Dogar would like the same number of judges to hear the appeals.”
The petitions filed by Musharraf’s rival candidates in the Oct 6 presidential election said that he was ineligible to stand for a second five-year term while keeping his post as the army chief.
The court then had allowed the presidential polls to take place but said that no notification could be issued until the court decided the case.
Musharraf won the vote by big a margin, getting 56 percent of the votes, though opposition parties did not take part in the polling.
The judges’ services were terminated Nov 3, a few days before they were to pronounce the verdict on his eligibility.