Musharraf Can Remain Army Chief If Court Case “Lingers” – Pakistan Official

Text of report by Zulfiqar Ghuman headlined “Musharraf can be COAS beyond 15 Nov, says AGP; Qayyum says SC decision validated re- election; Justice Tariq says Musharraf can be disqualified even if he gets 1,000 votes” published by Pakistani newspaper Daily Times website on 6 October

Islamabad: Attorney General (AG) Malik Qayyum on Friday [5 October] said President General Pervez Musharraf could continue as army chief beyond 15 November if the constitutional petitions challenging his candidature continued beyond the cut-off date, while rival party lawyers rejoiced at the 10-member Supreme Court [SC] bench’s decision to withhold the results of the presidential election until the final decision of the case.

Government lawyers claimed victory because the court had allowed President Musharraf to contest the presidential election from the current assemblies in uniform. However, the opposition parties’ lawyers termed the verdict a partial success, as the final decision rested with the court.

“President Musharraf can continue as chief of army staff beyond 15 November if the case lingers beyond the cut-off date. If the petitions are not decided by 15 November and notification of his election is not issued, he could continue with both offices,” Malik Qayyum told reporters after the verdict.

He told reporters that President Musharraf would live up to his promise to resign as army chief before taking oath for the next term. “Today’s decision has also validated President Musharraf’s election from the present assemblies,” he argued. He said the presidential election would be held on Saturday (today) and expressed the hope that President Musharraf would get majority votes. “The notification of results will remain a formality that will be completed in due time,” he added.

Senator Wasim Sajjad, a lawyer of the federation, termed the SC decision a new milestone in Pakistan’s history. “This order will lead the country towards a complete democracy,” he added.

Disqualification with 1,000 votes: Justice (r) Tariq Mehmood, leader of the lawyers’ movement, said the decision was satisfactory for now, as the court had ordered withholding of results thereby maintaining control over the final decision. “Now Musharraf can be disqualified even if he gets 1,000 votes,” he said.

He said four out of nine judges had decided against Musharraf’s election in the dual-office petitions, while the remaining five had not given their opinion on merit but rejected the petitions on grounds of maintainability. “There will be no credibility and legitimacy of Musharraf’s election even if the court rules in his favour because four judges and several opposition parties have already ruled against him,” he maintained.

Hamid Khan, the lead counsel for presidential hopeful Justice (r) Wajeedhuddin Ahmed, said it was a positive sign that the court had allowed the continuation of the electoral process but had withheld the counting of votes and notification of election until its final decision of the case. “This is our initial success. Now we have to prove to the court that Musharraf is neither qualified for re- election nor can the current assemblies elect him as president for next five years,” he added.

Senator Latif Khosa, counsel for Makhdoom Amin Fahim, said it was wrong to assume that the court had set aside their petitions. “It has partially accepted our point of view and ordered withholding of results. The president will not be able to take oath until the court decides the merits of the case. The court can declare the process null and void,” he argued.

Meanwhile, in talks with private TV channels, Justices (r) Sajjad Ali Shah and Saeeduz Zaman Siddiqui said the SC decision was balanced in the given situation and expressed the hope that the case would be decided on merit.

Originally published by Daily Times website, Lahore, in English 06 Oct 07.

(c) 2007 BBC Monitoring South Asia. Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning. All rights Reserved.