Former Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf has been sentenced to death by a Pakistani court in the high treason case, according to Pakistani media reports. The former military dictator was sentenced to death today by a three-member bench of a special court in the long-drawn high treason case against him for suspending the Constitution and imposing emergency rule in the country in November 2007, a punishable offence for which he was indicted in 2014.
Pervez Musharraf, 76, has been living in exile in Dubai since March 2016 after he left Pakistan for medical treatment and has not returned since citing health and security. In March, he was admitted to a hospital in Dubai after suffering from an ailment.
The treason case against Pervez Musharraf was initiated by former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif. The trial was pending since 2013.
The special court had ordered Musharraf to record statement by December 5. The three-judge bench announced the verdict it had reserved on November 19, the Dawn newspaper reported.
The former Pakistan President was declared an absconder as he failed to appear in court despite repeated summons and the court issued a directive to the country’s Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) to arrest him.
