Guards outside the special court set up to try former president Pervez Musharraf. Aamir Qureshi—AFP
Former president had challenged the constitution of court and appointment of judges, citing bias against him.
Judges hearing treason charges against former president Pervez Musharraf on Friday rejected his challenges against the special tribunal.
Lawyers for the former general had challenged the constitution of the court and appointment of judges, accusing them of bias against Musharraf, who appeared in person before judges for the first time last month after repeated delays.
Lead judge Faisal Arab said after the hearing that the three-member tribunal panel had dismissed Musharraf’s objections.
The judges have set March 11 as the date to indict the former general, who was ordered to appear in person to hear the charges being read out against him. He was first ordered to appear before the tribunal on Dec. 24, but has missed repeated hearings since then due to bomb scares and health problems that saw him complain of a heart ailment.
Musharraf became the first former Army chief to come before court when he appeared on Feb. 18, in a case that is seen as a test of civilian rule over the country’s Army.
Musharraf has endured a torrid time since returning to Pakistan in March last year on an ill-fated mission to run in the general elections. Almost as soon as he landed he was barred from contesting the vote and hit with a barrage of legal cases dating back to his 1999-2008 rule.
1 comment
Travesty! The judges reject everything. So far not a single argument made by Musharraf’s team has been accepted by this three member joke of a tribunal. Clearly shows how one-sided this trial is. Its a farce and reminds one of the trial that ZAB was put through. Biased judiciary, which was forced to do things under political guidance of the then government. Things are no different today under the Sharif government.