Islamabad: It remains unclear whether former military ruler Pervez Musharraf will appear on Monday before a special court which is due to indict him on treason charges.
“There is a 50-50 chance” of the former president appearing in the court, a member of his legal team, Ahmad Raza Kasuri, said on Sunday in remarks shown by domestic private channel.
Kasuri spoke as reports said the former president’s ailing 95-year-old mother, Zarin Musharraf, has been admitted to a hospital in Sharjah.
The three-judge court had issued a warrant against Musharraf on March 14, ordering that he be arrested on March 31 and produced before the bench if he refuses to appear.
On Thursday the court rejected a defence plea to review the decision and maintained the arrest warrant against the former army chief.
Kasuri said a situation of confrontation might arise if matters were not handled wisely, adding that any sort of confrontation could be harmful to democracy.
The defence is likely to seek permission from the special court for Musharraf to travel to the UAE in view of his mother’s condition.
In January, Musharraf’s wife, Sehba, had submitted an application to the interior ministry to allow him to undergo treatment abroad, but the ministry rejected the plea.
Later the special court also rejected a similar application after examining a medical report on Musharraf from the Armed Forces Institute of Cardiology (AFIC) in Rawalpindi, where he is still under treatment.
The former president was admitted to the military hospital on January 2 after falling sick on his way to the special court in Islamabad from his farmhouse in the capital’s suburbs.
According to media reports, Musharraf’s appearance in the court also depends on permission by doctors treating him in the AFIC to leave the hospital for the court hearing.
According to police officials, a police team will go to the AFIC on Monday morning to serve the warrant.
Authorities have made stringent security arrangements, reportedly deploying more than 2,500 police on four routes from the AFIC to the special court in Islamabad for Musharraf’s appearance in court.
The treason case against Musharraf relates to suspension of the constitution and imposition of a state of emergency by him in November 2007.
The special court started working in December but indictment of the former president has not taken place so far as he missed the hearings citing threats to his life by militant groups and his ailment.
