ISLAMABAD: Though thick clouds continue to shroud the final destiny of former President retired General Pervez Musharraf facing the ‘high treason’ trial, lawyers representing the government in the case have received a windfall of over Rs20 million.
The National Assembly during the question hour on Wednesday was informed that the government had so far released Rs20.5 million to a team of 16 lawyers led by Mohammad Akram Sheikh, senior advocate of the Supreme Court.
In reply to a question by Shafqat Mehmood of the Pakistan Tehrik-i-Insaf (PTI), Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan presented a list of the lawyers and the fee paid to them.
Though Mr Sheikh was shown drawing only a nominal Rs999 as a fee for leading the team of lawyers the government has engaged in the high treason case, the list included names who either worked in Mr Sheikh’s law chamber or were known to him.
As head of the team, Mr Sheikh, who is known for his pro-PML-N feelings, picked lawyers of his choice, a government official close to the development told Dawn.
According to the list provided to the members of the National Assembly, the main chunk of the fee - Rs10 million - has gone to Nasiruddin Khan Nayyer, a senior lawyer of the Supreme Court and the in-charge of the prosecution team.
A team of 12 lawyers is engaged to prepare the prosecution side of the case. As many as 11 lawyers formed the constitutional team which has been assigned the task to make the case against the former military ruler covering its constitutional aspect. Mr Nayyer is part of the two teams.
Barrister Sajeel Sheryar, a high court lawyer who closely works with Mr Sheikh, has received Rs1 million as fee. He is part of both the teams.
Chaudhry Hasan Murtaza Mann, another member of the two teams and part pf Mr Sheikh’s law chamber, has pocketed Rs1 million. Similarly, Mr Faraz Raza and Mohammad Haider Imtiaz received Rs500,000 each.
The two are also part of Mr Sheikh’s chamber. Mian Moazzam Habib, another high court lawyer and an associate of Mr Sheikh, got Rs500,000.
Other lawyers in the government team who got their share included: Sardar Asmatullah (Rs1,000,000), Tayyab Jafri (Rs1,000,000), Ishtiaq Ibarim (Rs2,000,000), Barrister Natalya Kamal (1,000,000), Dr Tariq Hassan (Rs1,000,000) and Chaudhry Mohammad Ikram Rs1,000,000.
Three lawyers though present on the penal representing the government have been shown receiving no fee at all. They are: Barrister Sherjeel Adnan Sheikh, Naeem Qureshi and Barrister Mohammad Raheel Kamran, who is son of Mr Akram Sheikh.
