Impartiality of judge hearing Musharraf`s case questioned

Islamabad: Pervez Musharraf`s party today questioned the impartiality of the judge who revoked the former military ruler`s bail and ordered his arrest, saying he had once served as a counsel for a radical cleric of the Lal Masjid here. Musharraf was remanded to judicial custody for a fortnight yesterday, two days after Justice Shaukat Aziz Siddiqui of the Islamabad High Court cancelled his pre-arrest bail and directed police to detain him. The All Pakistan Muslim League, however, said Siddiqui`s "personality is highly controversial" as he had earlier served as the lawyer for Abdul Aziz, one of the top clerics of the Lal Masjid, against which Musharraf ordered a military operation in 2007. Siddiqui also contested the 2002 general election on a Jamaat-e-Islami ticket from a parliamentary constituency in Rawalpindi, said APML spokesperson Aasia Ishaque. "Pervez Musharraf was subjected to judicial terrorism in the Islamabad High Court," she said. Siddiqui had represented Abdul Aziz in an anti-terrorism court following his arrest during the Lal Masjid operation and later succeeded in getting Aziz`s home declared a "sub-jail" so that he could be detained at his residence, she added. "Personal vendetta against Pervez Musharraf is being carried out by appointing political workers as judges. It`s very ironic that the lawyer of a terrorist is giving judgement in a terrorism case against Pervez Musharraf," Ishaque said.

AFP