He is the first army chief to respond to such a serious crime. Judges rule he unlawfully suspended the Constitution in 2007, to establish a state of emergency. He pleads innocent and claims the allegations of "a political nature". He recently asked to leave the country to attend his sick mother.

Islamabad ( AsiaNews / Agencies) - This morning, a Pakistani court indicted Pervez Musharraf for high treason.  He is the first army chief in the history of the country to respond to such a serious crime. According to the indictment, in 2007 he suspended the Constitution in violation of the law and imposed a state of emergency. He must respond to five different counts. The former president remained in office from 2001 to 2008, one of the longest mandates in the leadership of the country.  He has always maintained his innocence claiming the accusations are of "a political nature ". In contrast, he recalled his service to his country proclaiming himself  a "patriot " who fought for the nation.

Musharraf is charged - among others - on the basis of Article 6 with having suspended, abrogated and subverted the Constitution, imposing a national emergency in 2007 and placing the highest judicial bodies in the country in custody. In his defense, he has always claimed to have made ​​the decisions "for the nation and its people" and said he was "saddened" by the definition of "traitor".

The former retired general has been hospitalized for some time at the Institute of Cardiology of the Armed Forces (AFIC) in Rawalpindi, after having suffered a sudden attack on his way to the court to attend a hearing. Yesterday he was transferred to the intensive care unit, after a sudden spike in his blood pressure.His lawyer asked the court not to proceed and allow the former Pakistani leader to make a trip abroad, to visit his sick and elderly mother. Musharraf has repeatedly asked for permission to travel abroad to Dubai, however, the courts have always rejected his application. For today's hearing the magistrates had issued an arrest warrant, without bail, if he had failed to appear in court.

The former Pakistani leader has returned to his homeland in March 2013 after four years in exile , to participate in the general elections on 11 May, which marked the end of the leadership of Asif Ali Zardari, Bhutto's widower, and of Pakistan People's Party (PPP) . The 70 year old Musharraf is involved in a series of legal battles and is trying to escape arrest for several charges, which include the murder of a tribal leader in Balochistan.

Finally, he was also behind a serious political-institutional row with the head of the Supreme Court Iftikhar Chaudhry. The Pakistani Taliban have also promised on several occasions to kill the former president, who seized power in a 1999 military coup.

 

• PAKISTAN Islamabad
• former President Musharraf indicted high treason