Treason case: Special court resumes hearing

ISLAMABAD: The special court constituted to try former military ruler General retd Pervez Musharraf for high treason began its hearing today, DawnNews reported. A three judge court, headed by Justice Faisal Arab of the Sindh High Court, was hearing the case relating to treason charges against the ex-army strongman. Earlier on Thursday, the special court had adjourned the hearing until today saying the order issued for indicting him on March 14 stood intact. Meanwhile, the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) had briefed the court on possible threats to the former president’s life. Earlier on Wednesday, the three-judge court had sought a briefing from the intelligence agency on a threat alert it had issued on March 10, a day before Musharraf was to be indicted for imposing emergency on Nov 3, 2007. According to sources privy to the development, a lieutenant colonel of the ISI informed the court in the in-camera briefing Thursday that since his return to the country in March last year, Gen Musharraf had been facing serious threats from over a dozen terrorist groups, including Al Qaeda and the Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan. In its threat alert forwarded to the interior ministry, the ISI had warned that Gen Musharraf might be attacked by Al Qaeda and Taliban militants and even by his own security guards. “According to available information, the reconnaissance of all possible routes from the Armed Forces Institute of Cardiology (where Gen Musharraf is undergoing cardiac treatment) to the special court has already been completed by miscreants and hardcore fighters have been placed on the routes likely to be followed by Gen Musharraf’s escort team,” the ISI had said. It also claimed that terrorists had penetrated the security/cavalcade of Gen Musharraf and might assassinate him en route to or inside/outside the court, recalling the murder of former Punjab governor Salman Taseer.