Pak court indicts Musharraf; rejects plea to travel abroad

April 1, 2014

Indicts_MusharrafIslamabad, Apr 1: In a double whammy, former dictator Pervez Musharraf was today indicted by a court on five counts of high treason and his plea to travel abroad rejected as he became Pakistan's first ever military ruler to face criminal prosecution that entails death penalty.

Musharraf, who personally appeared in the special court for the second time since proceedings began in December, pleaded "not guilty" to all the charges against him read out by Justice Tahira Safdar of the Balochistan High Court.

The high-profile treason case against the 70-year-old former president is seen as a setback for the country's powerful army that apparently looked like moving to protect Musharraf when he was shifted to a military hospital in early January.

Musharraf is accused of treason for suspending, subverting and abrogating the Constitution, imposing an emergency in the country in November 2007 and detaining judges of superior courts.

If found guilty, he faces the death sentence or life imprisonment.

Reading out from his notes, Musharraf said that he gave 44 years of his life to the Pakistan Army and made defence invincible. He said he gave repute and progress to the country.

"I honour this court and prosecution, I strongly believe in law, I don't have ego problems and I have appeared in court 16 times in this year in Karachi, Islamabad and Rawalpindi," Musharraf said.

"I am being called a traitor, I have been chief of army staff for nine years and I have served this army for 45 years. I have fought two wars and it is treason?," he questioned.

Prosecutor Akram Sheikh in reply said he has never used the word "traitor".

Amid tight security, the three-judge bench headed by Justice Faisal Arab of the Sindh High Court read out the indictment against Musharraf.

Prior to the indictment, Farogh Naseem, a new lawyer in Musharraf's defence team, requested the court to allow the former president to travel to the UAE to meet his 95-year-old ailing mother.

Rejecting his application for seeking permission to travel abroad, the special court ruled that it did not have the powers to do so as it was functioning under a specific law.

Musharraf came to power in a bloodless coup in 1999, deposing then-prime minister Nawaz Sharif.

Musharraf, facing impeachment following elections in 2008, resigned as president and went into self-imposed exile in Dubai.

The court ruled that it did not put Musharraf's name on the Exit Control List (ECL) and a review can be done by the federal government.

Anybody whose name is on ECL cannot leave the country without permission.

The court said Musharraf is not in its custody and he is a free man.

Postponing the hearing to April 14, the court said he will have to appear before it as and when asked to do so.

However, it ruled that exemption can also be granted on specific days in case of a justifiable reason.

Security measures at the court were beefed up in anticipation of Musharraf's appearance in court, in compliance with an order issued on March 14, demanding his presence enforced or voluntary in the dock.

Musharraf was admitted to the Armed Forces Institute of Cardiology (AFIC), Rawalpindi, on January 2 after he complained of "heart problem" on his way to the court.

Following the hearing, Musharraf was rushed back to the hospital in Rawalpindi accompanied by a security convoy of dozens of vehicles and government-provided security personnel.

The military has ruled Pakistan for about half of its 66-year history and no ruler or top military commander has ever faced criminal prosecution before Musharraf.

Musharraf said the real "ghaddar" (traitor) are those who create hindrances in the country's socio-economic development and those who looted the national exchequer.

Musharraf in his defence said he had spent night with soldiers in Siachen and Kargil.

He proudly claimed to a former member of the Special Services Group whose moto was "ghazi and shaheed" (to kill or be a martyr).

He also listed out the steps that he had taken for the betterment of the country.

While commenting on the indictment of Musharraf, Cabinet Minister Ahsan Iqbal said Pakistan made another history.

"For the first time trial against a dictator brought him to face charges in court. It is a victory for all those who refused to bow against dictatorship, struggled and sacrificed to uphold the cause of rule of law in Pakistan," Iqbal said.

Iqbal, in a Facebook message, said Musharraf still showed his contempt for law and cowardice by trying to escape appearances.

"If Mush (Musharraf) had shown courage to appear on first call, he would have saved personal embarrassment and millions of rupees. But if he was so wise, why would he impose emergency in the first place," he said.

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Agencies
February 12,2020

London, Feb 12: Fugitive liquor baron Vijay Mallya returned to the courtroom here on Wednesday, the second day of hearing at the UK High Court, where the former billionaire has appealed against the extradition decision of Westminster Magistrates Court in December 2018.

On being asked about his expectations from the lengthy appeals process against the extradition order as today is the last day for Mallya to present his defence, the embattled former Kingfisher Airlines boss replied, "I have no clue. You see. I'll also see it. Let's not get into a speculative game."

When asked on what would happen if Mallya loses the case and has to return to India, the liquor baron responded: "We do have arguments."

The UK High Court, on Tuesday, had also heard Mallya's appeal against the Westminster Magistrates' Court order extraditing him to India to face alleged fraud and money laundering charges amounting to Rs 9,000 crore.

Mallya was present in the court along with his counsel Clare Montgomery during the hearing. Officials from Enforcement Directorate (ED) and Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) along with counsel Mark Summers representing the Indian government were also present.

When the judge asked if there was a timeline in the case, Clare said," This is a very dense case," involving multiple individuals and organisations and that not everything had been taken into account by the magistrate Emma Arbuthnot in her ruling against Mallya.

Montgomery contended that the magistrate's ruling had been riddled with "multiple errors". She also brought into question the admissibility of documents submitted by the Indian government - including witness statements and emails that proved crucial in the ruling by judge Arbuthnot, who found "clear evidence of misapplication of loan funds" and that there was a prima facie case of fraud against Mallya.

As she had done throughout the trial, Montgomery continued to assert that Mallya had not acted in a fraudulent manner or run a pyramid and that the collapse of Kingfisher Airlines was, in fact, the failure of a business in difficult economic circumstances.

She also reiterated concerns about the conduct of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in bringing charges against Mallya, claiming that the tycoon had been made a scapegoat.

Montgomery also stated that the Indian government had presented the loan taken out by Kingfisher Airlines, not as a simple business loan but was part of a larger and elaborate attempt at defrauding the banks by Mallya and Kingfisher Airlines management.

This, Montgomery contended, was but one example of a wider misinterpretation of the case by judge Arbuthnot.

The High Court justices reprimanded Montgomery for concentrating on the evidence - in essence rehashing the case presented at the lower court - rather than the apparent "mistakes" made by judge Arbuthnot in her ruling.

Mallya remains on bail of £650,000 as he has done throughout this legal process.

The Crown Prosecution Service which is representing the Government of India will present its case for the extradition of Mallya on Wednesday.

The 63-year-old businessman fled India in March 2016 and has been living in the UK since then.

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News Network
June 30,2020

Beijing, June 30: China said on Tuesday it was concerned about India’s decision to ban Chinese mobile apps such as Bytedance’s TikTok and Tencent’s WeChat and was making checks to verify the situation.

Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian told reporters during a daily briefing that (the Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led government of) India has a responsibility to uphold the rights of Chinese businesses.

India on Monday banned 59, mostly Chinese, mobile apps in its strongest move yet targeting China in the online space since a border crisis erupted between the two countries this month.

The apps are “prejudicial to the sovereignty and integrity of India, the defence of India, the security of state and public order", the ministry of information technology said in a statement, which came two weeks after 20 Indian Army personnel were killed in a violent clash on the India-China border in Ladakh.

The companies have been invited to offer clarifications before a government panel, which will decide whether the ban can be removed or will stay.

The move also came ahead of military and diplomatic talks between India and China scheduled this week.

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News Network
January 8,2020

New Delhi, Jan 8: Iran will welcome any peace initiative by India for de-escalating its tensions with the US after the killing of Iranian military commander Qasem Soleimani, the Iranian envoy here said on Wednesday.

His comments come hours after Iran launched missile strikes against two US military bases in Iraq in retaliation to the killing of its top commander General Qassem Soleimani.

"India usually plays a very good role in (maintaining) peace in the world. At the same time, India belongs to this region. We welcome all initiatives from all countries, especially India as a good friend for us, to not allow escalation (of tensions)," Iranian Ambassador to India Ali Chegeni told reporters after a condolence meeting for Solemani at the country's embassy here.

"We are not for war, we are looking for peace and prosperity for everybody in this region. We welcome any Indian initiative or any project that can help peace and prosperity in this world," he said.

On the Iranian attack on US targets in Iraq, Chegeni said his country retaliated under its right to defend.

Amid spiralling US-Iran tensions over the killing of Soleimani, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Sunday had a conversation with his Iranian counterpart Javad Zarif and US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, voicing India's concerns over the escalation of tensions.

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