Daily Times

ISLAMABAD: The special court has fixed objections regarding the attachment of former president Pervez Musharraf’s property in a high treason case with a hearing on March 11th, sources said.

The objections are jointly filed by Musharraf’s wife, Sehba Musharraf, daughter Ayla Raza, and Huma Khaishgi, the deceased sister of Sehba and shareholder of the property.

On July 19, 2016, a three-member bench comprising of Justice Tahira Safdar and Justice Yawar Ali, led by the then-Chief Justice(CJ) of the Peshawar High Court (PHC), Mazhar Alam Miankhel, had attached Musharraf’s moveable and immovable property in the high treason case.

Now, after the elevation of Miankhel to the Supreme Court, the special court will be headed by PHC CJ Yahya Afridi.

The objections, filed by Musharraf’s family through their counsel, Faisal Chaudhry, had stated that the immovable properties of Musharraf had been gifted to his wife and daughter before the litigation of the high treason case and therefore these were owned by them.

The objections had stated that the farm house located at Chak Shahzad had been gifted to Musharraf’s wife Sehba in 2008 – a suit was also filed in the Islamabad High Court (IHC) but the court had disposed of the said suit with the observations that there was no dispute with regard to the gift deed.

It had further stated that a plot in Phase VIII of Defence Housing Authority (DHA) Karachi was under the joint ownership of Musharraf and his sister-in-law Huma Khaishgi, adding that Musharraf had gifted his shares to Sehba and daughter Ayla Raza in 2009.

“Therefore, as it stands today, the said plot is jointly owned by Mrs. Sehba Musharraf, Mrs. Ayla Raza, and the legal heirs of the late Mrs. Huma Khaishgi,” objections further stated.

Regarding another two plots located in DHA Islamabad and DHA Karachi, Musharraf’s family had stated that both of them were gifted to Sehba and Ayla in 2009.

“It has been conclusively settled by the superior courts of our country, that upon a declaration of oral gift, the subject properties belong to those who were gifted them, without any legal requirement of effecting registration,” it further stated.

The moveable property comprises of bank accounts in which Musharraf’s pension as the former chief of army staff and president are received, the document stated.

“In terms of section 11 of the Pensions Act, 1871 pension is not liable to be seized or attached by any process or order of the Court,” it had stated.

Sehba requested the court to lift the attachment order. She also requested the court not to treat her husband as an absconder because he left the country solely on medical grounds.