Judges' detention case: Musharraf exempted from appearance

An anti-terrorism court (ATC) in Pakistan Monday exempted former president Pervez Musharraf from appearance and adjourned till March 7 the hearing in a judges' detention case.

The case was filed against Musharraf for detaining over 60 judges, including former chief justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry, after proclaiming emergency Nov 3, 2007.

During the hearing, Musharraf's counsel Ilyas Siddiqui requested the court to grant his client exemption from appearing in the court, which was accepted, Dawn onilne reported.

Siddiqui said the Armed Forces Institute of Cardiology (AFIC) in Rawalpindi was not providing medical reports of the former army chief and added the court could seek it on its own.

Musharraf has been in the AFIC since Jan 2 after he complained of a heart problem when he was being driven to a special court to face a trial on high treason charges here.

Public prosecutor Nadeem Tabish said neither was Musharraf attending the court hearings nor were his guarantors and requested the court to decide over the matter on merit in the next hearing.

The judges' detention case is based on an FIR registered Aug 11, 2009, against the former president on the complaint of Chaudhry Mohammad Aslam Ghumman, an advocate.