Top court orders Pakistan's Musharraf to appear for treason allegations
Iran Press TV
Mon Apr 8, 2013 8:50AM GMT
Pakistan's Supreme Court has ordered the country's former military ruler Pervez Musharraf to appear before judges over treason allegations.
The top court also said that the retired general had to be banned from leaving the country and that he should appear in court on April 9.
Referring to Musharraf and the Pakistani government, Justice Jawad Khawaja told the court, "It is necessary to issue notice to the respondents in these petitions. The office shall ensure service of notice to the respondents for tomorrow."
the Pakistani justice also called on the government to "ensure that the respondent (Musharraf) does not leave the jurisdiction of Pakistan."
The orders came after the court announced that it would hear a petition that accuses Musharraf of treason for imposing emergency rule in 2007.
Taufiq Asif, the president of the High Court Bar Association Rawalpindi, has brought the petition to the Supreme Court to put Musharraf on trial for the 2007 events.
The former army chief-turned-president faces a string of charges including involvement in the 2007 assassination of former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto.
Last month, Musharraf returned home after a four-year self-imposed exile in London and Dubai to run for parliamentary elections of May 11.
On April 1, an unnamed election commission official in Kasur district of Punjab Province issued a statement saying that Musharraf "has been disqualified" because of court cases against him.
However, Jamal Khan, a returning officer for a constituency in the northern town of Chitral in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province, said on Sunday that Musharraf was allowed to run for the elections.
Human Rights Watch has called on the Pakistani government to hold Musharraf accountable for widespread and serious human rights abuses under his rule.
DB/HSN
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