The special court created to try former president general (retd) Pervez Musharraf for high treason has sentenced the former army chief to death sentence on Tuesday.

The case was being heard by a a special bench comprising Peshawar High Court Chief Justice Waqar Ahmad Seth Akbar of the Sindh High Court (SHC) and Justice Shahid Karim of the Lahore High Court.

A three-member bench headed by Peshawar High Court Chief Justice Waqar Ahmad is hearing the case.

On Oct 24, the government had dismissed the prosecution team hired by the previous government in the said case. The new team of prosecutors which include advocates Ali Zia Bajwa and Munir Bhatti appeared before the special court. They apprised the court that they had received the notification of appointment for the case in the evening of Dec 5 with thousands of documents to read, therefore they needed some time to study the case.

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Justice Waqar Seth said that four days were enough for preparation. He also asked the prosecutors to set aside the other cases for now and focus on this case as judges had come from different parts of the country for hearing the special case in the special court.

He directed them to submit their arguments by Dec 17. He said further arguments would be heard in the next hearing on Dec 17 and the same day the case’s verdict would be announced.

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On Nov 28, the special court had directed Pervez Musharraf to record his statement in one week (by December 5) in the high treason case.

The special court had said that it was not obliged to follow the high court’s orders. The court said only Supreme Court could issue it an order. This, the special court, said in reference to the Islamabad High Court (IHC)’s direction to halt the court verdict scheduled to be announced on Nov 28. However, the court refused to comment on the IHC ruling.

Justice Waqar Ahmad Seth had said the prosecution team should come with full preparation for the next hearing as no further time would be provided.