Court considers Musharraf eligibility

ISLAMABAD – Pakistan’s Supreme Court said yesterday it will not be intimidated by threats of martial law when it rules on Friday on whether to validate President General Pervez Musharraf’s recent election victory.

Musharraf, who seized power in a 1999 coup, swept an October 6 presidential vote by lawmakers. However, the court ruled the result would not be final until it decides whether he was eligible to contest the vote in the first place while still army chief.Musharraf has said that if he wins, he will quit the army before his new presidential term begins.Aitzaz Ahsan, a lawyer for one of Musharraf’s election opponents, told the court that government officials have reportedly said Musharraf may impose martial law or a state of emergency if the court rules against him.However, the head of the 11-judge panel hearing the case bristled at the suggestion.”No threat will have any effect on this bench, whether it is martial law or (state of) emergency,” said judge Javed Iqbal.”Whatever will happen, it will be according to the constitution and rules …No group should think that it can take the Supreme Court hostage.”The hearing was adjourned and likely to resume November 12, Iqbal said.Musharraf’s current term is due to expire on November 15.The court has emerged as the main check on Musharraf’s dominance since he tried and failed this spring to fire Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammed Chaudhry over alleged abuse of authority.The court declared Chaudhry’s suspension illegal and reinstated him in July.Also yesterday, the court handed down a 15-day suspended jail sentence to the former Islamabad police chief and his deputy for manhandling Chaudhry on March 13 as he went to a court hearing to contest his suspension by Musharraf.Three other senior police officers were given one-month suspended jail sentences.A photograph published in the Pakistani press in March showed burly policemen bundling Chaudhry into a government car, with one officer leaning on his head.Meanwhile, opposition leader Benazir Bhutto left Pakistan yesterday, just two weeks after her return from eight years in exile, amid speculation the military president could declare martial law.Bhutto’s decision to visit family in Dubai came two weeks after her homecoming procession in Karachi was targeted by suicide bombers, killing 145 people.”She has gone to Dubai to see her ailing mother and children,” her spokesman Farhatullah Babar said after Bhutto was seen stepping onto an Emirates plane in Karachi.Hours earlier, Bhutto said she had decided to postpone the trip, citing lingering political uncertainties.”She will come back on November 8.”Nampa-APHowever, the court ruled the result would not be final until it decides whether he was eligible to contest the vote in the first place while still army chief.Musharraf has said that if he wins, he will quit the army before his new presidential term begins.Aitzaz Ahsan, a lawyer for one of Musharraf’s election opponents, told the court that government officials have reportedly said Musharraf may impose martial law or a state of emergency if the court rules against him.However, the head of the 11-judge panel hearing the case bristled at the suggestion.”No threat will have any effect on this bench, whether it is martial law or (state of) emergency,” said judge Javed Iqbal.”Whatever will happen, it will be according to the constitution and rules …No group should think that it can take the Supreme Court hostage.”The hearing was adjourned and likely to resume November 12, Iqbal said.Musharraf’s current term is due to expire on November 15.The court has emerged as the main check on Musharraf’s dominance since he tried and failed this spring to fire Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammed Chaudhry over alleged abuse of authority.The court declared Chaudhry’s suspension illegal and reinstated him in July.Also yesterday, the court handed down a 15-day suspended jail sentence to the former Islamabad police chief and his deputy for manhandling Chaudhry on March 13 as he went to a court hearing to contest his suspension by Musharraf.Three other senior police officers were given one-month suspended jail sentences.A photograph published in the Pakistani press in March showed burly policemen bundling Chaudhry into a government car, with one officer leaning on his head. Meanwhile, opposition leader Benazir Bhutto left Pakistan yesterday, just two weeks after her return from eight years in exile, amid speculation the military president could declare martial law.Bhutto’s decision to visit family in Dubai came two weeks after her homecoming procession in Karachi was targeted by suicide bombers, killing 145 people.”She has gone to Dubai to see her ailing mother and children,” her spokesman Farhatullah Babar said after Bhutto was seen stepping onto an Emirates plane in Karachi.Hours earlier, Bhutto said she had decided to postpone the trip, citing lingering political uncertainties.”She will come back on November 8.”Nampa-AP