A special court on Thursday accepted former president General (r) Pervez Musharraf’s request to postpone the hearing of a treason trial against him until after the month of Ramazan owing to his poor health.
A three-member bench headed by Justice Tahira Safdar adjourned the case hearing till June 12, after Musharraf’s counsel Barrister Salman Safdar told the court that his client cannot travel to Pakistan to attend the hearing due to his medical condition. As the hearing went under way, the counsel informed the bench that Musharraf was scheduled to arrive in Pakistan on Wednesday morning to attend the trial, but could not due to his illness. “He is ashamed and apologetic for not being able to reach [in time]. He is unable to walk,” the counsel said, adding that he has spent three days with the former president and is ‘shocked to see that he can barely even speak’. “The doctors have said that it is not safe for him to travel in this condition,” Barrister Safdar said, and asked the court to postpone the hearing until after Ramazan.
“The case against Musharraf dates back to 2007. Despite the cases, he returned to the country in 2013. He was indicted in March 2014. He stayed in the country for two years and three months, but the prosecution failed to prove their case,” the lawyer maintained. “In the past two years, Musharraf has been hospitalised 40 times,” he continued, and said he could not answer the court’s questions without assistance from his client.
Objecting to the argument, the prosecution contended that the trial can proceed despite Musharraf’s absence. At this, Justice Tahira Safdar remarked that the former president’s medical reports are also attached along with his plea to adjourn the hearing. “I cannot comment on the authenticity of the medical reports,” the prosecuting lawyer said.
The court then issued notices to the prosecution and adjourned the hearing till June 12.
In line with the Supreme Court’s directive, the trial court is scheduled to record Musharraf’s statement under Section 342 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC) to complete the treason trial.
The Supreme Court last month had observed that the special court should announce a decision after hearing the prosecution as the suspect will lose his right to defend if he fails to appear before the court on May 2.
The Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) government had filed the treason case against Musharraf over the former military ruler’s imposition of emergency in November 2007.