SC to take up plea of ex-CJP on 19th

ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court (SC) will take up on January 19 a petition of former Chief Justice of Pakistan Abdul Hameed Dogar, challenging the Special Court verdict directing re-investigating the role of facilitators in imposition of November 3, 2007 emergency in the country.

A three-member bench of the apex court, headed by Justice Mian Saqib Nisar and comprising Justice Iqbal Hameedur Rehman and Justice Tariq Pervaiz, will hear the petition of former chief justice Abdul Hameed Dogar.

Dogar had approached the Supreme Court after the Islamabad High Court dismissed the petition on grounds of maintainability on December 9, 2015.

A three-member Special Court, headed by Justice Faisal Arab, on November 27, 2015 had issued directives to the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) to submit a report after investigating the role of various facilitators in imposition of November 3, 2007 emergency in the country, including former prime minister Shaukat Aziz, Justice Abdul Hameed Dogar and the incumbent federal minister for climate change Zahid Hamid.

Dogar, while challenging the Special Court’s verdict before the IHC, had urged to set aside the order for re-investigation into the matter submitting that the court has exceeded its jurisdiction while issuing directives for re-investigation in a treason case against former president and army chief Pervez Musharraf for imposing emergency.

While substantiating his contentions, Dogar cited the judges case of 2009 decided by the apex court’s larger bench of 14-members.

Syed Iftikhar Hussain Gillani, Dogar’s counsel, had urged the IHC to set aside the November 27 impugned order of the Special Court on grounds that a larger bench of the Supreme Court in 2009 had said in its ruling that Musharraf alone imposed the emergency in the country. However, the IHC had dismissed the petition on grounds of maintainability on December 09, 2015.