Pakistan's former military ruler General Pervez Musharraf has been advised by doctors to seek medical treatment abroad for a recurring back problem, his party said today.
A special team of doctors examined 70-year-old Musharraf at the Al-Shifa hospital here today, Muhammad Amjad, a spokesman of the All Pakistan Muslim League (APML), said.
"The doctors have found that he has a spinal fracture which cannot be treated in Pakistan due to lack of expertise. The five member medical panel has advised the former president to should travel to Dubai, North America and Europe as he requires surgery," Muhammad Amjad said.
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He said the medical team conducted an examination of Musharraf's spine and left leg. In its report, the team said that the pain was first experienced by the former president two years ago in Dubai which had now intensified.
Musharraf, who is facing multiple trials including one under the high-treason act, has filed a petition in the Sindh High Court (SHC) to remove his name from the Exit Control List (ECL) so that he can travel abroad.
The government has apposed the petition saying he could abscond if allowed to travel abroad.
Musharraf's name was put on the ECL on April 5 last year to ensure that he remains in the country and attends hearings of all the cases he has been named in.
Anyone whose name is on the ECL cannot leave the country without permission.
On March 31, Musharraf was indicted for suspending, subverting and abrogating the Constitution, imposing an emergency in the country in November 2007 and detaining judges of the superior courts.
The former president, who is the first military ruler in Pakistan's history to be tried in court, has rejected all the charges leveled against him.
He flew to Karachi last month to undergo medical tests.
Musharraf, who returned to Pakistan from self-exile in March last year, was also named as an accused in the murder cases of former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto in 2007 and former Baloch tribal leader Akbar Bugti in 2006.
He was also named in a case relating to the Lal Masjid operation that was carried out during his tenure.
