Tag: Peshawar High Court

  • Judge, who wanted Musharraf hanged at D-Chowk, succumbs to COVID-19

    Judge, who wanted Musharraf hanged at D-Chowk, succumbs to COVID-19

    Peshawar High Court Chief Justice Waqar Ahmad Seth, 59, has passed away due to coronavirus on Friday.

    Justice Seth had tested positive for COVID-19 on October 22 and was subsequently moved to a hospital in Peshawar, a report in Dawn said. The judge was later shifted to to a private hospital in Islamabad in a critical condition.

    He leaves behind a wife and a daughter.

    Justice Seth took oath as chief justice of the PHC on June 28, 2018. During his tenure as the CJ, he issued important verdicts, specifically the acquittal of over 70 convicts most of whom were handed down death sentences by military courts.

    The deceased jurist was also the head of a special court that had sentenced former military dictator Gen Pervez Musharraf to death by hanging in a high treason case.

    Both the government and the army had expressed “anger” over a specific paragraph 66 of the detailed judgement and termed it “unlawful”, “inhuman” and “unconstitutional”.

    Para 66 of the verdict read: “We direct the law enforcement agencies to strive their level best to apprehend the fugitive/convict [Pervez Musharraf] and to ensure that the punishment is inflicted as per law and if found dead, his corpse be dragged to the D-Chowk [in front of the Parliament House], Islamabad, Pakistan, and be hanged for three days.”

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    Prime Minister Imran Khan expressed grief on the demise of the judge.

  • I only watch wrestling on TV: judge who wants Musharraf hanged at D-Chowk

    I only watch wrestling on TV: judge who wants Musharraf hanged at D-Chowk

    Peshawar High Court (PHC) Chief Justice (CJ) Waqar Ahmed Seth, who on Thursday made headlines for his damning remarks in Gen (r) Pervez Mushrraf’s treason case judgement, has said that the only thing he watches on TV is wrestling.

    The PHC CJ, who was a part of the three-judge special court trying the former military ruler for treason, had a day earlier drawn ire of people on both mainstream and social media for proposing Musharraf’s public hanging.

    Both the government and the army had expressed “anger” over a specific paragraph 66 of the detailed judgement and termed it “unlawful”, “inhuman” and “unconstitutional”.

    Para 66 of the verdict read: “We direct the law enforcement agencies to strive their level best to apprehend the fugitive/convict [Pervez Musharraf] and to ensure that the punishment is inflicted as per law and if found dead, his corpse be dragged to the D-Chowk [in front of the Parliament House], Islamabad, Pakistan, and be hanged for three days.”

    With the government deciding to move the Supreme Judicial Council (SJC) and file an appeal against the verdict during a meeting of the ruling Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s (PTI) strategic committee, chaired by Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan after his telephonic conversation with Chief of the Army Staff (COAS) Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa, a lawyer, Advocate Moazzam Butt, on Friday praised Justice Seth for staying calm despite all the backlash.

    “It’s impressive how calm you are,” the lawyer said to Justice Seth as the latter heard a case at the PHC, Express News reported.

    Responding to the lawyer’s praise, the judge said that nothing had happened until he left home earlier in the day. “I don’t watch TV… I only watch wrestling,” he was quoted as saying.