A special court trying Pervez Musharraf for treason directed the beleaguered former military ruler to appear on February 18 or face a non-bailable arrest warrant after he skipped Friday’s hearing.
The judges had earlier directed him to appear in person on Friday and issued a bailable arrest warrant for 70-year-old Musharraf. The former Army chief has not attended any of the hearings of the special court. The court accepted Musharraf’s petition seeking exemption from appearing on Friday. Musharraf’s counsel Anwar Mansoor assured the court his client would appear on February 18.
“Pervez Musharraf will appear before the court after being discharged from hospital,” he said. Justice Faisal Arab, the head of the special court, warned that a non-bailable warrant would be issued if Musharraf failed to appear at the next hearing. The special court was formed by the Government last year to try Musharraf on charges of high treason for imposing emergency in November 2007. He was admitted to a military hospital in Rawalpindi after he developed heart problems on January 2. On January 31, the court issued a bailable arrest warrant and observed that Musharraf’s absence from hearings was deliberate.