Beleaguered former dictator Pervez Musharraf will appear for the first time in a Pakistani special court conducting his treason trial on February 7, a media report said on Tuesday.
Quoting sources close to Musharraf, a report on the website of Dawn daily said he will appear before the court on Friday. The sources said a joint police team comprising personnel from Islamabad and Rawalpindi has been informed of Musharraf’s decision. Musharraf has skipped all hearings of the special court formed by the government in December last year to try him on charges of high treason for imposing emergency in 2007.He was admitted to a military hospital in Rawalpindi after developing heart problems while being driven to a hearing on January 2
On January 31, the special court issued a bailable arrest warrant for Musharraf and ordered his production on February 7. Islamabad
Police served the warrant at the military hospital last night.
Musharraf is unlikely to be held in custody because the court has
said he can get bail against a surety of Rs 25 lakh.
Police were able to serve the warrant only after waiting for two-and-half
hours at the Armed Forces Institute of Cardiology last night, media
reports said.
Musharraf’s lawyers provided police with details about the surety
bonds of Rs 25 lakh.
“The former president personally wrote a note saying he does not
believe that the special court has the right to try him. He handed
the note to the police,” The Express Tribune reported.
Another report in the daily said over Rs 100 million has been spent
on Musharraf’s security in the past nine months. More than 400 police
and paramilitary personnel are guarding the former army chief.
The report quoted police sources as saying that the extraordinary
security given to a single person had taken a heavy toll on the performance
of Islamabad Police, which is facing an acute manpower shortage.
According to the sources, around Rs 10 million is spent every month
to secure Musharraf, who was earlier under house arrest and facing
various charges.
For every hearing in cases against Musharraf, irrespective of whether
he appears in court, security agencies have to make arrangements
costing Rs 1 lakh, the report said.