Exiled former military leader and Pakistani president Pervez Musharraf was yesterday sentenced to death after being found guilty of treason, an unprecedented move in a country where the armed forces are often considered immune from prosecution.
The court’s decision marks the first time a former leader of the armed forces has been sentenced to death in Pakistan, where the military maintains a firm grip on power and has ruled the country for roughly half of its 72-year history.
Musharraf has been in self-imposed exile ever since a travel ban was lifted in 2016 that allowed him to seek medical treatment abroad.
Photo: AFP
The 76-year-old has lately spent most of his time between Dubai and London.
Several Pakistani media sources reported the verdict and sentence, while a senior court official confirmed the rulings.
The trial — which began in 2013 and is one of several involving Musharraf — centered on his decision to suspend the constitution and impose emergency rule in 2007, his lawyer Akhtar Shah said.
The move sparked protests against Musharraf, ultimately leading to his resignation in the face of impeachment proceedings.
The former general was ill and remained in Dubai, Shah said, adding that no decision had been made on whether to appeal.
Retired Pakistani general Talat Masood, now a security analyst, called the court’s decision “extraordinary.”
“That the courts would take such a bold decision or give a bold judgement shows that there is a major transformation that is taking place in Pakistan,” he said.
Musharraf, who was born in India’s capital New Delhi in 1943, but moved with his family to Pakistan after partition, took power after ousting then-Pakistani prime minister Nawaz Sharif in a bloodless coup in 1999.
The general — a cigar-smoking, whisky-drinking moderate — became a key US ally in the “war on terror” after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks and escaped at least three al-Qaeda assassination attempts during his nine years in office.
His rule faced no serious challenges until he tried to sack the chief justice in March 2007, sparking nationwide protests and months of turmoil that led to the imposition of a state of emergency.
After the December 2007 assassination of former Pakistani prime minister Benazir Bhutto, the national mood soured further and he was left isolated by the crushing losses suffered by his allies in February 2008 elections.
Musharraf finally resigned in August 2008 in the face of impeachment proceedings by the new governing coalition and went into exile.
He returned in 2013 in an attempt to contest elections, but was barred from taking part in the polls and from leaving the country as a barrage of legal cases mounted.
Yesterday’s ruling is the latest court decision to target Musharraf while he has been in exile. In 2017, a Pakistani court pronounced him a fugitive in the murder trial of Bhutto.
The anti-terrorism court also branded him an absconder and ordered his property confiscated.
Musharraf is alleged to have been part of a broad conspiracy to have Bhutto killed before elections.
He has denied all charges.
Following the court’s decision, Bhutto’s son Bilawal Bhutto Zardari tweeted: “Democracy is the best revenge.”
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