A recorded conversation of November 5, 2007 between a top legal aide and one of the key spymasters of Gen (retd) Musharraf has exposed how the reversal of historic November 3, 2007 decision of a seven-member bench, headed by Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry, was manipulated.The top legal eagle of the ousted dictator is heard telling the spymaster that the then PCO Chief Justice Abdul Hameed Dogar had informed him about the existence of the formal and duly signed decision of the seven-member bench handed down on November 3, 2007 but that he (Dogar) had concealed it. Dogar, according to the legal aide, had also assured him that the next day ( i.e on Nov 6) he would get the Nov 3, SC order reversed by a bench comprising eight judges (one more than the earlier seven-member bench headed by CJ Iftikhar) and behold, the next day, things proceeded exactly according to plan as Dogar proved to be a ‘man of his words’. The eight-member Dogar court handed down a verdict that set aside the historic Nov 3 order of the seven-member bench headed by Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry.
In its Nov 3 decision, the Supreme Court had declared Musharraf’s PCO as illegal and unconstitutional besides directing the judges of the superior judiciary not to take oath under the PCO. However, the PCO judges led by Mr Dogar showed their allegiance to the then dictator and took oath under the Musharraf PCO.
In the audio tape, Musharraf’s top legal aide is heard assuring the spymaster that Dogar is his man and would do everything as per their desire. It may be recalled that Dogar was approached in Court No 1 on Nov 5 with the query to clarify the standing of the Nov 3 order if any. Dogar was also asked if there existed any Nov 3 order of the seven-member bench. If yes, he was told to get it reversed through a judicial verdict.
At this point the legal eagle tells the spymaster that Dogar asked him (the legal aide) to come to his chamber where he was told that yes there was a Nov 3 decision duly signed by the judges. But then Dogar was quoted as saying that he had kept it to himself. Dogar was further quoted as saying, “It is a decision of the seven-member bench and we would get it reversed tomorrow by an eight-member bench.”
The recorded conversation apparently was the legal aide reporting to the spy chief about his talks with Justice Dogar, the government’s efforts to buy the loyalties of deposed judges and the new inductions into the Supreme Court to overturn the seven-member bench decision which had set aside the imposition of emergency and promulgation of PCO on November 3, 2007 by a pre-Nov 3 independent judiciary judges bench.
The tape unambiguously establishes that the military dictator General (retd) Pervez Musharraf enjoyed absolute control over the PCO judiciary and got decisions of his own choice.
It was following the Nov 6 fixed judgment of the Dogar court that another seven-member bench under Dogar was constituted, to hear petitions of Iqbal Tikka and others, challenging the Nov 3 unconstitutional actions, but it all ended up to the entire satisfaction of General Musharraf, whose Nov 3 actions were validated on Nov 21 the same year.
The legal aide, who is caught unguarded in the audio tape, when approached by The News admitted that on Nov 5 Dogar had told him in his chamber that the Nov 3 order would be overturned. He, however, said that he does not remember if he had talked to the spymaster.
For the moment the identities of the cited legal aide and the spymaster have been withheld by the Jang Group Editorial Board as further investigations are being carried out in the light of information revealed by the contents of the tape and once these investigations are concluded then the new information along with the identities of the two gentlemen shall be made public.
In its Nov 3 decision, the Supreme Court had declared Musharraf’s PCO as illegal and unconstitutional besides directing the judges of the superior judiciary not to take oath under the PCO. However, the PCO judges led by Mr Dogar showed their allegiance to the then dictator and took oath under the Musharraf PCO.
In the audio tape, Musharraf’s top legal aide is heard assuring the spymaster that Dogar is his man and would do everything as per their desire. It may be recalled that Dogar was approached in Court No 1 on Nov 5 with the query to clarify the standing of the Nov 3 order if any. Dogar was also asked if there existed any Nov 3 order of the seven-member bench. If yes, he was told to get it reversed through a judicial verdict.
At this point the legal eagle tells the spymaster that Dogar asked him (the legal aide) to come to his chamber where he was told that yes there was a Nov 3 decision duly signed by the judges. But then Dogar was quoted as saying that he had kept it to himself. Dogar was further quoted as saying, “It is a decision of the seven-member bench and we would get it reversed tomorrow by an eight-member bench.”
The recorded conversation apparently was the legal aide reporting to the spy chief about his talks with Justice Dogar, the government’s efforts to buy the loyalties of deposed judges and the new inductions into the Supreme Court to overturn the seven-member bench decision which had set aside the imposition of emergency and promulgation of PCO on November 3, 2007 by a pre-Nov 3 independent judiciary judges bench.
The tape unambiguously establishes that the military dictator General (retd) Pervez Musharraf enjoyed absolute control over the PCO judiciary and got decisions of his own choice.
It was following the Nov 6 fixed judgment of the Dogar court that another seven-member bench under Dogar was constituted, to hear petitions of Iqbal Tikka and others, challenging the Nov 3 unconstitutional actions, but it all ended up to the entire satisfaction of General Musharraf, whose Nov 3 actions were validated on Nov 21 the same year.
The legal aide, who is caught unguarded in the audio tape, when approached by The News admitted that on Nov 5 Dogar had told him in his chamber that the Nov 3 order would be overturned. He, however, said that he does not remember if he had talked to the spymaster.
For the moment the identities of the cited legal aide and the spymaster have been withheld by the Jang Group Editorial Board as further investigations are being carried out in the light of information revealed by the contents of the tape and once these investigations are concluded then the new information along with the identities of the two gentlemen shall be made public.
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