Special court hearing treason case against Musharraf once again dissolved

A Lahore High Court bench hearing treason case against former military dictator Pervez Musharraf on Wednesday was once again dissolved after the retirement of Chief Justice Yawar Ali, media report said.

Justice Ali was heading the three-member bench that also included Justice Mazhar Akbar and Justice Tahira Safdar.

General (retd) Musharraf, 75, who has been living in Dubai since March 2016, is facing the treason case for suspending the Constitution in 2007, a punishable offence for which he was indicted in 2014.

A conviction for high treason carries the death penalty or life imprisonment.

The former army chief left for Dubai for medical treatment and has not returned since, citing security and health reasons.

The court last week ordered the formation of a high-level judicial commission to record Musharraf's statement in Dubai in the treason case after the former president declined to appear before the court through video conferencing.

On March 30, 2018, the previous bench was dissolved after Justice Yahya Afridi rescued himself from hearing the case over the objections of Musharraf's lawyer.

Early this month, the Supreme Court Chief told Musharraf that "there are good doctors in Pakistan" and directed him to appear before the apex court to record his statement.

Musharraf, who ruled Pakistan from 1999 to 2008, has been declared a fugitive in the Benazir Bhutto assassination case and the Red Mosque cleric killing case.