By Muhammad Najeeb, IANS
Islamabad : President General Pervez Musharraf would doff his uniform before taking oath as president for the second term as per an undertaking submitted to the Supreme Court last month, Attorney General Malik Muhammad Qayyum said Tuesday.
The attorney general was talking to reporters after the hearing of the petitions against proclamation of emergency this month.
Asked about the issuance of an official notification of results of last month’s presidential election, he said this could be done only after the decision of the Supreme Court on all petitions related to Musharraf’s candidacy.
The apex court Monday rejected five out of the six petitions filed against Musharraf seeking re-election. The sixth plea will be heard Thursday.
Answering a question about orders being written by some deposed judges in various cases, Qayyum said: “There is no value of such orders or judgements as it is not permitted under the constitution as well the judicial rules.”
Three deposed Supreme Court judges in their detailed judgement had termed Musharraf’s re-election illegal saying he was not eligible to contest the presidential polls which he won Oct 6 with a huge margin.
“The judges who did not take oath under PCO (Provision Constitutional Order) are no more judges of the superior courts and now they are retired judges,” Qayyum said.
A judge cannot even sign a judgement after his retirement even if he has written it before his retirement, he added.
Talking about the imposition of emergency in the country Nov 3, he said: “Some extra-constitutional steps are taken when there is no solution in the constitution.”
Giving an example, he said in 1999 the then executive overstepped its constitutional powers and the result was imposition of martial law. The same overstepping was done by some members of the judiciary even to the extent of a “judicial coup” and that resulted in imposition of emergency, the attorney general added.
He said all three pillars of the state — legislature, judiciary and executive — have to work within the parameters of their powers as laid down in the constitution.
When any of them tries to encroach upon the powers of the others, it would lead to extra-constitutional measures, he said.
Responding to a question about his meetings with the deposed judges, Qayyum said: “I have met only Justice Javed Iqbal so far and none else.”