Former Pakistan president sentenced to death
Baku, December 18, AZERTAC
General Pervez Musharraf, Pakistan’s former military ruler, has been sentenced to death for high treason over the imposition of a state of emergency during his final months in power, officials said, according to The Independent.
Musharraf was sentenced in absentia and has been living in Dubai since 2016, after he was allowed to leave Pakistan on bail to seek medical treatment.
An ally of the west who ousted the democratically elected government of Nawaz Sharif in a 1999 military coup before naming himself president, Musharraf attempted to imprison several judges in 2007 in a desperate bid to extend his rule.
He resigned in 2008 rather than face impeachment charges, but continues to claim some sympathies in Pakistan among those who cite his achievements in opening up the political establishment.
It is the first time a former army chief has been convicted of high treason in Pakistan, and Musharraf's trial was followed closely by the powerful military establishment, aware that it sets a potentially significant precedent in a country with a track record for regular military coups.
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