ISLAMABAD: Former army chief and president Pervez Musharraf will not appear before the special court hearing high treason case as his counsel has prepared a petition to adjourn the hearing till the end of the sacred month of Ramzan on basis of his illness.
As per the petition prepared by Pervez Musharraf counsel, he is under treatment in the American Hospital Dubai and his doctor Dr, Faraz Khan has recommended not to travel with his ailment which could prove to be risky for his life.
Pervez Musharraf has been suffering from heart, kidney and other diseases including backbone ailment and his health conditions have been deteriorating day by day. Hence, he could not be able to travel in a serious health condition.
The petition viewed that the former president returned to the country in March 24, 2013, on his intention and faced the Benazir Bhutto and Akbar Bugti murder cases while interior ministry made the high treason case after his arrival and he wanted to return to the country but due to his illness he is not able to travel to the country.
It is pertinent to mention here that the Supreme Court in its verdict had said that if Pervez Musharraf did not return to the country then he will deprive of his right to defend in the case.
The Supreme Court (SC) on April 1, ordered General (r) Pervez Musharraf to appear before a special court hearing a high treason case against him on May 2, otherwise, he would lose the right of defence in the case.
A three-member bench headed by Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Asif Saeed Khosa was hearing a petition filed by Advocate Taufeeq Asif who pointed out that there has been no progress in the treason case as Musharraf had not returned to the country since 2016.
In the previous hearing, the top court had said that it would intervene if the special court, in its next hearing, failed to make a decision on how to record the former president’s statement.
The SC said that if the former president does not appear before the special court on May 2, he would lose his right to record a statement under Section 342 of the Code of Criminal Procedures (CrPC). Additionally, the apex court noted that if Musharraf appeared in the court on May 2, all the facilities would remain available to him. If Musharraf does not appear before the special court on May 2, the court should give its decision based on the prosecution’s arguments, the apex court ruled.
A March 28 order of the special court, calling Musharraf to court on May 2, was also presented in the top court.
The special court had ordered Musharraf to appear before it on May 2. At that hearing, defence lawyer Salman Safdar had said that the former president wished to appear in court on May 13. Upon hearing this, the three-member bench headed by Justice Tahira Safdar had directed Musharraf to appear in court before Ramazan.
A special court had indicted Musharraf for high treason in March 2014. Musharraf left for Dubai in 2016 to “seek medical treatment” and hasn’t returned since. Last month, he was admitted to a hospital in Dubai after suffering a reaction from a rare disease for which he is already under treatment.
