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Pervez Musharraf should go to US for medical treatment, say his lawyers Pervez Musharraf asks to go to US for medical treatment
(about 3 hours later)
A lawyer for Pakistan's former president Pervez Musharraf, who is on trial for high treason, says his client has been advised to go to the US for medical treatment. Pervez Musharraf, Pakistan's beleaguered former military ruler facing a high treason trial, has asked permission to receive treatment for a heart condition in the US.
Anwar Mansoor Khan says he submitted a letter to the court on Thursday asking that Musharraf be transferred to the Paris regional medical centre in Paris, Texas. It has long been rumoured that health problems might be used as a convenient excuse to whisk him out of the country, bringing to a close an historic legal challenge to the might of Pakistan's military establishment, which some fear risks undermining the fragile balance of power between civilian politicians and the army.
Musharraf is a patient at the Armed Forces Institute of Cardiology in Rawalpindi. He was taken there after suffering a "heart problem" on the way to a court hearing. On Thursday morning, defence lawyers presented medical advice from Musharraf's private doctor to a specially convened court in Islamabad that said Musharraf should be allowed to travel to the US despite currently being banned from leaving the country.
The high treason case relates to his 2007 decision to impose a state of emergency and detain a number of judges. A letter from Arjumand Hashmi, a US-based Pakistani cardiologist who has treated Musharraf in the past, warned that his patient was suffering from a "significant amount of coronary artery heart disease which can result in major myocardial infraction (heart attack)".
Musharraf returned to Pakistan in 2013 hoping for a political comeback but instead got embroiled in court cases relating to his near-decade in power. He said Musharraf should be "transferred at the earliest" to his medical centre in Paris, Texas.
Judge Faisal Arab later ordered the formation of a medical board to examine Musharraf and submit a report on his condition by the end of next week.
Musharraf was dramatically diverted to a military hospital on 2 January after feeling a "heaviness" in his chest while he was driving to his treason trial.
But after his medical notes showing that he suffered from heart vessel disease were leaked to the media, most doctors in Pakistan declared Musharraf's condition was not unusual for a 70-year-old man and that they could be dealt with in the country.
The Armed Forces Institute of Cardiology where Musharraf has remained for the last two weeks is regarded as one of the best in the country but his lawyers argued he must be able to choose where to seek treatment.
"We can't trust the doctors in Pakistan!" one of Musharraf's legal team, Chaudhry Faisal Hussain, said during a break in proceedings at the country's National Library. "He has a right to be seen by the doctor of his own choice."
Musharraf failed to arrive at the special court on two earlier occasions after small explosive devices were found along the route to the court. Although the Pakistani Taliban have vowed to assassinate the former military strongman, many believe the small bombs were planted to provide Musharraf with an excuse not to turn up.
Legal commentators say Musharraf is determined to avoid court because once indicted he will struggle to defend himself in a case many lawyers regard as open and shut. A conviction could see him imprisoned or even sentenced to death.
Despite coming to power in a 1999 coup, Musharraf is on trial for introducing a state of emergency towards the end of his time in power in 2007, which the supreme court has already ruled illegal and unconstitutional.
Musharraf's lawyers have focused efforts on challenging the authority of the special treason court which they deny has any right to arrest their client.
At a separate hearing on Thursday, the Islamabad high court heard their arguments against the special court, which Musharraf's team say was improperly established by the government. However, it ruled against them, saying it had no powers to prevent the special treason court arresting Musharraf.
In addition to his treason trial, Musharraf is ensnared in four other cases lodged against him soon after his return from self-exile in Dubai in March last year.
On Thursday, an anti-terrorism court hearing a case where Musharraf is accused of illegally detaining judges in 2007 demanded his appearance in court, but the judge's deadline soon passed.
The government – headed by Nawaz Sharif, the prime minister that Musharraf ousted in 1999 – first announced in June that it would order a treason trial for the former army chief.
The move represents a major challenge to the authority of the powerful army which it is thought to be unhappy at the prospect of former high-ranking officers being tried in civilian courts.
Some commentators generally in favour of stripping the army of much of the control it traditionally enjoys over many areas of government policy have raised concerns over what they fear might turn into a destabilising clash between civilians and generals.
"The Get-Musharraf-Out-Of-Pakistan operation is now in full swing," said a recent editorial in The Friday Times, an influential liberal newspaper. "The Sharifs have handed responsibility to the special court and the military, effectively washing their hands of the affair."
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