Pak ex-premier to contest treason case

Pakistan's former premier Shaukat Aziz will challenge a special court ruling which ordered the government to include his name as alleged co-conspirators in a high treason case slapped on ex-military ruler Gen Pervez Musharraf.
The three-judge tribunal was set up last year to try 71-year-old Musharraf for suspending the constitution in 2007 which is considered an act of high treason in Pakistan.
Musharraf contested that he did not act alone and other high officials at the time should also be tried.
After months of wrangling, the court last month ruled to include three more persons in the high treason trial including Musharraf's hand-picked prime minister Aziz, who is living abroad since leaving office in 2007.

Treason charges carry maximum death sentence for the convicts in Pakistan.
The Express Tribune said that 65-year-old Aziz will not return to Pakistan until asked by the court and that he has transferred responsibility for legal battle to his attorneys.

Aziz will, however, remain available for any investigation, sources said.
Sources privy to the development said that after the court's verdict, Aziz approached legal experts - including his tenure's prominent figure Wasim Sajjad - to ponder on legal options.
They said a team led by Sajjad will now decide whether the judgment of Justice Faisal Arab-led Special Court should be challenged before the Supreme Court or should the option of filing a writ petition before a high court be exercised first.

"One thing is very clear in our minds. We will challenge the jurisdiction of the Special Court, which directed the federal government to add Aziz's name as abettor of Musharraf without having any such power or authority to do so," said a legal expert, who is in contact with Aziz.
He said Aziz spends most of his time travelling between London and Dubai.
When approached, Sajjad said consultation is under way on different legal options but he refused to reveal details of deliberations, citing sensitivity of the issue.