Law ministry says reference against Justice Waqar not sent to SJC

ISLAMABAD: The reference against Justice Waqar Seth has not been sent to the Supreme Judicial Council (SJC) said a spokesperson for the law ministry on Saturday.

According to the minsitry's spokesperson, research related to the reference is being conducted. He said that the attorney general had returned today (Saturday) from his trip to Turkey.

The government decided on Thursday to take legal action against Peshawar High Court (PHC) Chief Justice Waqar Ahmed Seth over his controversial observation in the detailed judgment of the high treason case sentencing former military dictator Pervez Musharraf to death.

A special court court had sentenced Musharraf to death on Tuesday for imposing a state of emergency on November 3, 2007, adding that it had found him guilty of high treason in accordance with Article 6 of the Constitution of Pakistan.

Paragraph 66 of the verdict, authored by Justice Waqar, had directed law enforcement agencies to arrest Musharraf and if he was found dead, drag his body to the D-Chowk in Islamabad and hang it for three days. The observation drew ire from the government, political and legal analysts.

Law Minister Farogh Naseem had slammed the observation and declared Justice Waqar 'unfit' for the role of a senior judge.

"I do not understand what need the judge had to give such an observation," he had said. "By giving such an observation, Justice Seth has proven that he is mentally unfit. I would like to request the Supreme Court to stop the judge from working."