Musharraf's lawyer appeals against military court decision

ISLAMABAD- The counsel for former military dictator General (retd) Pervez Musharraf, Anwar Mansoor, on Thursday filed an appeal in the Supreme Court of Pakistan against the decision of the special court to not conduct the treason trial of the former president in a military court.

Earlier, the special court raised objections against Musharraf’s appeal to conduct the treason trial of the former president in a military court. Previously on Feb 21 the special court constituted to try former military ruler Gen (retd) Pervez Musharraf ruled that the treason trial of the former president would not take place in a military court and has summoned him before it on March 11, 2014. Meanwhile, the defense team had argued that Gen Musharraf should be tried by a military court and not the special court.

The three-judge court, headed by Justice Faisal Arab of the Sindh High Court, had deferred the framing of charges and said these would be read out once the court announced its judgment on whether or not the special court has the jurisdiction to try the retired general for treason. Initially, Musharraf had filed three applications that challenged the appointment of the head of the prosecution team, the establishment and the jurisdiction of the special court.

His team has said more than once that unless the jurisdiction of the court was decided, Gen Musharraf could not be indicted. The 70-year-old is facing treason charges, which can result in a death penalty, over his imposition of a state of emergency in 2007 while he was president. The former general has been in a military hospital since falling ill with heart trouble while travelling to court on Jan 2, 2014.