A high-treason trial against former military ruler General Pervez Musharraf was today adjourned till February 18 by a Pakistani court, rejecting a plea by the prosecution to continue the trial.
Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif had initiated the treason case against 71-year-old Musharraf in December 2013 for abrogating the Constitution in 2007 when he had imposed emergency.
A three-member special court, headed by Justice Faisal Arab of the Sindh High Court (SHC), resumed the hearing during which Musharraf's lawyer Faisal Chaudry presented his arguments.
The prosecuting lawyer pleaded to the bench that while the decision of the Islamabad High Court (IHC) against Musharraf may stand, the special court be allowed to function, but the court rejected his argument and adjourned hearing till next month.
IHC last month asked the tribunal to halt the trial until a decision is made about the petition of the three co-accused of Musharraf who challenged the court's decision to include them in the case.
The tribunal in November accepted a petition of Musharraf that he was not alone in imposing emergency in 2007 for which he is facing treason charges.
It ordered that ex-premier Shaukat Aziz, ex-Chief Justice Abdul Hameed Dogar and ex-Justice Minister Zahid Hamid be tried as accomplices of the former military ruler.
This is the first time in Pakistan's history that a former military ruler has been put on trial for treason. If convicted, Musharraf could get life imprisonment or death penalty.
He was charged in 2013 under Article 6 of the Constitution, according to which suspension of constitution of the country is a high treason.
