Government given last chance to respond to Butt's petition

The Lahore High Court here Monday gave last chance to federal government to reply till December 06 in response to a petition of former chief of Army Staff Zia-ud-Din Butt seeking his removal as illegal and issuance of his retirement benefits. The court also issued notices in another application of Zia-ud-Din Butt for directions to the federal government not to sale out his confiscated properties.
The petitioner submitted that on October 12, 1999 he was appointed as army chief by the then president, Rafique Tarar. But, soon after his appointment in Prime minister's House, the PM and others were encircled by heavily armed troops of 111 Brigade and "threatened us at gunpoint to step down but Mian Nawaz Sharif refused and they took us in custody."
He was put into solitary confinement which lasted for two years. He said during that confinement he suffered manifold sufferings including purported dismissal from service and forcible seizure of properties. He said this was done to him for obedience to constitutional order passed by then president of Pakistan appointing him to a constitutional post of chief of army staff. During his confinement, his cardiac condition worsened and he lost 75 pounds, he said.
He said he was released on August 02, 2001 and was handed over a script of hand written note written on a brigade major's notepad that he had been dismissed with effect from August 02, 2001. He said this was an unsigned note without giving the name and designation of the authority nor the reasons thereof.
He said during detention he was intimated that the agricultural land allotted to him stood cancelled which had been developed with heavy investment. He said he was also deprived of his private properties and properties of his wife.
He said his vested right to the grant of pension had also been snatched without notice and without providing an opportunity of hearing in defence. He said the complete proceedings of his case were proved to be the result of bias, vindictiveness, mala fide, arbitrary and without jurisdiction.
The petitioner therefore prayed to the court to declare his removal to be void and all consequential measures taken in implementation thereupon may also be quashed being unlawful.