Former Pakistani military dictator Pervez Musharraf’s rocky return to his homeland continues on Monday as the country’s Supreme Court hears an application to have him stand trial for treason.
A two-member bench of the apex court headed by Jawad S. Khawaja began the hearing of a petition brought by Taufiq Asif, president of the Rawalpindi high court bar association, seeking to try Musharraf for treason for imposing emergency rule in 2007, a move that ultimately paved the way for his downfall.
The retired general returned to Pakistan from four years of self-imposed exile last month vowing to run for parliament in the May 11 general election to “save” the troubled nuclear-armed state.
But his nomination papers were rejected in three of the four constituencies he planned to contest — running in multiple seats is not unusual in Pakistan — and he faces a barrage of legal cases.
Aside from this petition, Musharraf faces a number of other legal cases. He has been bailed over the 2007 killing of former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto and a Baloch rebel leader in 2006, and for sacking and arresting judges in 2007.
Source: The News Tribe
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