The court led by Justice Faisal Arab also issued directives to the Secretary Ministry of Interior to be present in the court on March 31. From the onset of hearing, defence counsel Anwar Mansoor Khan sought exemption for his client's appearance before the bench for one day (March 14). Khan cited the Ministry of Interior's letter of March 10, 2014 on the threat to the life of the accused contending that there was a threat to Musharraf's life from security personnel designated to escort him from AFIC to Special Court.
"It is necessary that before the accused appears in Special Court, there should be proper screening of security personnel accompanying the accused in his cavalcade to the court," Anwar Mansoor Khan prayed. Khan further submitted that the process of screening of security personnel would take about six weeks, adding that till such a time the appearance of the accused before the Court be dispensed with. Opposing the prayer of the defence, prosecutor Mohammad Akram Sheikh said that security personnel were deployed after proper screening to ensure safety of the accused from the hospital to the Special Court.
He informed the court that three different routes manned by 2500 security personnel were allocated to avoid any chance of an attack on the cavalcade of the accused at a cost of Rs 200 million. The Prosecutor said that as Musharraf is already represented by a counsel in the instant matter, therefore, the charge may be read out to the counsel who may plead guilty or not guilty on behalf of his client so that the trial may proceed. Sheikh contended that the accused is deliberately avoiding an appearance in the Court.
The bench asked defence counsel Anwar Mansoor Khan to state in clear terms whether the accused would be appearing before the Court this day (March 14). Giving time to the defence counsel to consult with their client the bench asked them to respond to the Prosecutor's proposal. The bench reassembled again at 11:30 am while Anwar Mansoor Khan apprised the court that his client does not intend to appear before the court due to security concerns.
Responding to the Prosecutor's proposal to read charges to one of the counsel for the accused, Anwar Mansoor Khan contended that under certain provisions of the Criminal Law the charge must be read out to the accused directly when he appears before the court. The bench reserved its judgement on grant of exemption to Musharraf from appearing before the court till the afternoon when it announced its ruling: "The court vide order of March 11, 2014 directed the accused to appear in person before the court, but the accused is not in attendance with an apprehension of security threats as disclosed by the Secretary Ministry of Interior in its letter of March 10, 2014.
"The only reason for non-appearance of the accused, as disclosed by his counsel, is his security concern therefore the Secretary, Ministry of Interior in the meantime, in co-ordination with the security agencies, shall ensure that all the necessary measures for the safe journey of the accused to and back from the Special Court are taken in the light of the threats disclosed in the letter of the Ministry of Interior of March 10, 2014".
The Court further ruled that in view of the law governing the instant matter, the presence of the accused is required for proceeding with the case saying as it is trite that a criminal case cannot be kept dormant where an accused is available to stand a trial.
"Let non-bailable warrant for production of the accused be issued for March 31,2014 to be executed by the Inspector General of Police, Islamabad or any other officer designated by him. The warrants would be executed early in the morning of March 31, 2014 if the accused refuses to appear before the Special Court on his own volition," the order said. The defence counsel filed the application under Section 6 of the Criminal Law Amendment (Special Courts) Act 1976 as Amended with a plea, "under these circumstances all orders of the Special Court issuing process to the accused and ordering proceedings under Section 6 (a) merit to be revisited and withdrawn".
The court issued a notice to prosecutor in response to a fresh application Crl.M.A.No14/2014) filed by the defence counsel on March 14, 2014 for March 20. Talking to the media outside the court room Faisal Hussain Chaudhry, one of the counsel for the defence, stated that Musharraf's legal team would review the judgement and subsequently decide whether or not it should challenge.