ISLAMABAD - The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Tuesday issued notices to Interior Minister, Secretary Interior, Inspector General of Police (IG) Islamabad and a joint investigation team (JIT) probing the Ghazi Abdul Rashid murder case.
A single bench of IHC comprising Justice Noor-ul-Haq Qureshi issued these notices on a petition seeking Musharraf’s trial in the murder case by a high court instead of a sessions court.
Besides issuing the notices, the court also directed them to submit their response within a fortnight in this connection and deferred the hearing.
During the hearing, the counsel for Shuhda Foundation of Pakistan Tariq Asad argued that he did not expect a transparent trial of the case. Therefore, he requested the court that the trial of the case should be transferred from a sessions court to the High Court.
The petitioner prayed to the court that all the petitions and proceedings moved with respect to the instant case against General (R) Pervaiz Musharraf for safe administration be heard in original jurisdiction in the IHC as the trial court not taking the charges so seriously.
The counsel maintained before the court that the investigation of the said case is in progress and the co-accused are also required to be interrogated. Since one of the accused, Pervaiz Musharraf, had been the Chief Executive of Pakistan exclusively in the administrative and civil capacity during the period when multiple murders were committed and huge damage to the religious buildings containing very important historical research material, hundreds copies of Holy Quran and Ahadith were also subjected to destruction.
“From the debris of Jamia Hafsa, along with limbs of human bodies, hundreds torn and burnt pieces of Holy Quran had been recovered which was a unique incident of sacrilege of Quran,” he added.
The petition stated that the object of the operation was “not only to commit multiple murders of the religious scholars, preachers, teachers involved in the learning objective of Quran and Sunnah, but was also aimed for destruction of mission of preaching of Islam which prima facie was tantamount to the commission of the offence of blasphemy.”
Therefore, he prayed that all the petitions and proceedings moved with respect to the instant case against General (R) Pervaiz Musharraf for safe administration be heard in original jurisdiction in the high court.
He further prayed that apprehending justice at the hands of investigation agency the record of the case be called for by this curt in order to safeguard the interest of complete and safe administration of justice.