Pakistan: Former president Musharraf files petition in LHC challenging special court's verdict in high treason case
Islamabad/IBNS: Former Pakistan president Gen (retd) Pervez Musharraf on Friday filed a petition in the Lahore High Court where he challenged special court’s verdict which awarded him death in a high treason case.
The petition was filed by Azhar Siddique on behalf of Musharraf in the High Court. The special court on December 17 had sentenced the former military ruler to death for imposing a state of emergency on November 3, 2007, Geo News reported.
The petition stated that Musharraf was not given a chance to present his arguments and that the “special court quite abruptly and hurriedly wrapped up a trial that was far from its conclusion," reported the news channel.
“The hastily announced judgment is emanating from a prosecution case which suffers, for all intents and purposes from an admitted, noticeable and unexplained delay of over five years from the date of the alleged offence and initiation of proceeding,” the petition stated as reported by the news channel.
The former military dictator was sentenced to death in a high treason case for suspending the Constitution and imposing emergency rule in the country in Nov 2007, a punishable offence for which he was indicted in 2014.
The verdict assumes to be significant as it is for the first time in the history of the country that a military chief has been declared guilty of high treason and handed the death sentence.
