Courtesy PID
Special Assistant to P.M. on Information tells media government will examine Pervez Musharraf sentence before issuing formal statement
Prime Minister Imran Khan is currently on a trip abroad and when he returns tomorrow, he will personally look at the “ground realities and legal framework” of the death sentence announced for former president Pervez Musharraf, said Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Information and Broadcasting Firdous Ashiq Awan on Tuesday.
Reacting to the special court verdict in the high treason case of the former Army chief, the de facto information minister told journalists in Islamabad she had just been notified of the verdict and would need time to formulate a response. The government would, she said, “review in detail” the judgment, availing legal expertise to analyze all legal and political aspects as well as the potential impact on national interests.
To a question over whether the government would approach the United Arab Emirates, where Musharraf is currently based, to extradite the former president back to Pakistan, Awan said the matter would be discussed with the government’s legal team. She said a final decision and statement would only be issued after Prime Minister Imran Khan had personally reviewed all aspects of the case.
To questions over petitions filed by the Interior Ministry and government prosecutors seeking a deferral or suspension of Musharraf’s verdict, Awan said she lacked the information to comment on the matter and would do so after consulting the legal team.
A special court on Tuesday sentenced Musharraf to death in a high treason case over his abrogation of the Constitution and declaration of a state of emergency in 2007. The case had been pending since 2013, with the former military chief having been declared an absconder after he left Pakistan to seek medical treatment abroad and failed to response to multiple summons by the court.