Treason case: Court reserves verdict on Musharraf's exemption plea
Former military ruler Pervez Musharraf was likely to be indicted today.
ISLAMABAD (Web Desk) - Special court has reserved verdict on former president Pervez Musharraf s plea seeking exemption for his personal appearance in the treason case, Dunya News reported on Friday.
A three-member bench, headed by Mr Justice Faisal Arab of the Sindh High Court, had summoned 70-year-old Musharraf today.
However, Musharraf s counsel Anwar Mansoor, submitted an application in the court requesting for the his exemption from today s hearing.
He said the background checks need to be conducted on the security personnel deployed for Musharraf s security and this would take at least 10-12 weeks.
Justice Arab said that the lawyer should inform the court in 30 minutes if Mr Musharraf will appear or not. The judge noted that in case he does not appear, charges will be read out to the lawyer.
Ahmad Raza Kasuri, another lawyer of Mr Musharraf, said that an accused cannot be indicted in absentia.
Meanwhile, a team of police reached the Armed Forces Institute of Cardiology (AFIC) to take the former President to the court.
With authorities promising fool-proof security, Justice Arab had yesterday said the order to produce the former President in court on 14 March remained intact.
Musharraf had on Tuesday failed to turn up for his indictment in the court citing security reasons.
This is the first time in Pakistan s history that a former military ruler is facing high treason trial.
The inter-services intelligence (ISI) briefed the special court judges on the security alert issued relating to Mr Musharraf.
The ISI representatives told the judges that the latest alert was issued after a call had been traced in relation to a possible attack being planned against him.
The court will now announce verdict on Musharraf s exemption plea by 1:30pm today.
