Non-bailable arrest warrant issued against Musharraf

Islamabad: A special court trying General (retired) Pervez Musharraf on treason charges on Tuesday issued a non-bailable warrant against the former president, who is now abroad.

The three-judge bench ordered the federal investigation agency head to arrest the former president and bring him to the court at the next hearing of the case.

The court also directed that the bond worth Rs2.5 million (Dh876,570) deposited by retired Major-General Rashid Qureshi as guarantor for the accused stand forfeited.

Qureshi was head of the military’s public relations department during Musharraf’s 1999-2008 rule and had also served then as the presidential spokesman.

The court said it was the guarantor’s responsibility to ensure the appearance of the accused before the bench and rejected Musharraf’s plea seeking exemption from court appearance.

It directed the secretary of the interior ministry to submit within seven days a detailed explanation as to why Musharraf’s name was removed from the official Exit Control List (ECL).

The interior secretary was directed to appear before the court in person at the next hearing.

During the hearing, the government’s lawyer told the court that the former president’s name was taken off the ECL in the light of a Supreme Court verdict.

The ex-president had left for abroad on March 18 for medical treatment after the top court upheld a Sindh High Court decision asking the government to remove his name from the ECL.

The treason charges related to the imposition of emergency and suspension of the constitution by him in November 2007, months before he stepped down and left the country.

Musharraf returned to Pakistan from self-imposed exile before the general elections in 2013 but his ambition to play an active role in national politics was stymied as he was embroiled in criminal cases which, he termed, were politically motivated.