DUBAI: General (retd) Pervez Musharraf on Tuesday expressed his “disappointment” over a special court’s decision to award him the death sentence over suspending the Constitution of Pakistan and imposing emergency rule in 2007.
The special court, formed to try the former president for high treason under Article 6, announced its verdict today.
Musharraf heard the news of his conviction on television. The sources also said that he was disappointed at the verdict.
The former president has been in a self-imposed exile ever since a travel ban on him was lifted in 2016 that allowed him to seek medical treatment abroad.
The 76-year-old has since spent most of his time between Dubai and London.
“Musharraf wanted to record his statement and was ready to visit Pakistan but he wanted foolproof security which was not provided,” his lawyer Akhtar Shah told foreign news agency.
All Pakistan Muslim League (APML) termed the verdict “biased” and one which did not fulfill “legal requirements”.
“He agreed to record his statement in Dubai,” APML’s Malik Mubashir said. “The party would consult the lawyers about challenging it in the Supreme Court.”
In a statement from hospital bed on December 3, Musharraf had said that he was being tried although he had served the country all his life.
“I keep coming and going to the hospital,” he said in a video message.
“As for me, the commission can come here, and I can give them a statement. They can come and hear me, see my condition and then decide for themselves. When they return they can give their statement and my lawyer will be heard in the court too and then I hope I will get justice,” he said. …Agencies
