Khosa denounces malicious drive against judiciary.

ISLAMABAD -- While rejecting the allegation that he supported the special court order in the treason case against former military ruler Pervez Musharraf, the outgoing Chief Justice of Pakistan Asif Saeed Khosa has regretted that a malicious campaign has been initiated against him and the judiciary.

The chief justice, who will doff his robes as the top adjudicator on Friday midnight, was speaking at a full-court reference held to bid farewell to him on reaching superannuation.

The three-judge special court had recently awarded the death penalty to former dictator Pervez Musharraf in the high treason case for proclaiming emergency and putting Pakistan's ConstituAtion in abeyance on Nov 3, 2007.

'I completely reject the allegations that I supported the special court order. The allegations are baseless and incorrect,' said the outgoing chief justice, explaining that as judges 'we know the limits of our powers and we know that the truth will prevail'.

Chief Justice-designate Gulzar Ahmed, Pakistan Bar Council vice chairman Syed Amjad Shah, Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) president Qalbe Hassan and Additional Attorney GenAeral Chaudhry Aamir RehAman on behalf of Attorney General Anwar Mansoor also spoke on the occasion. However, Justice Qazi Faez Isa and Attorney General Anwar Mansoor Khan, who were abroad, could not attend the reference.

The observation of the outgoing chief justice came on the statement of Additional AG Chaudhry Rehman who bemoaned that the principle enunciated by Article 10-A of the Constitution about fair trial and proof being without reasonable doubt was ignored in the special court order. The Musharraf case 'judgement seems to have been rendered with animus and vengeance as is evident from the opinion of Justice Waqar Ahmed Seth, who was presiding over the special court', the law officer alleged.

Mr Rehman was of the opinion that the mode of execution of sentence ordered by the president of the special court apart from being 'totally illegal was also inhumane, barbaric, ludicrous against the fundamental rights and all norms of criminal justice system'. He alleged that the chief justice spoke to the media late night despite the fact that the Supreme Court was the appellate court in relation to the judgement of the special court and supported the short order/judgement passed by the special court, especially when the detailed verdict had not been issued.

Addressing the reference, CJP Khosa observed that he believed that a...

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