Islamabad, Jan 29 (IANS) A special court in Pakistan hearing the high treason case against former president Pervez Musharraf, Wednesday adjourned the hearing in the case till Thursday pending a request by the prosecuting team to summon the chief of the Armed Forces Institute of Cardiology (AFIC) in Rawalpindi.
The court Wednesday issued notice to the former president's lawyers on the prosecuting team's request to summon the chief of the AFIC, where Musharraf is undergoing treatment for a heart ailment, for cross-examination and adjourned the hearing of the case to Thursday, Dawn online reported.
The three-member special court bench, headed by Justice Faisal Arab of the Sindh High Court, Wednesday resumed the hearing of the treason case against the former military chief.
During the hearing, a lawyer for Musharraf, Barrister Anwar Mansoor, told the court that the Supreme Court hearing on the review petition against the apex court's landmark July 31, 2009, verdict denouncing the successive military takeovers of the last four decades, their endorsement by the superior judiciary after declaring Musharraf's second coup of Nov 3, 2007, unconstitutional by proclaiming emergency and cancelling the appointment of over 100 superior court judges, was under way.
He said that Musharraf's legal team needed to appear in the Supreme Court for the hearing and sought adjournment of the special court hearing till the apex court passed a verdict on the review petition
But Justice Faisal Arab said that the court proceedings could not be halted until the apex court issued a stay order in the matter and added that the defence team would also have to submit a request for exemption of Musharraf from the special court.
He said that adjournment and exemption from hearing were two separate matters.
Barrister Anwar Mansoor from Musharraf's defence team said that the medical report of the former president had been issued and the request for the exemption of Musharraf's appearance in court had already been submitted.
Mansoor added that he would respond to the prosecuting team's objections to the report Thursday.
Barrister Akram Sheikh, the head of the prosecuting team, told the court that the objections to Musharraf's medical report had been submitted in writing and that a copy of the objections had been given to the defence team.
The court then issued a notice to defence counsel on the prosecuting team's request to summon Syed Imran Majeed, commandant of the AFIC, for cross-examination.
The former military ruler was rushed to hospital following heart problems while going to the court Jan 2.
The Nawaz Sharif-led government set up the special court to try the former army chief on charges of high treason for imposing emergency and subverting the constitution in 2007.
Musharraf has been charged with abrogating, subverting, suspending, holding in abeyance and attempting to conspire against the 1973 Constitution by declaring emergency and detaining judges of the superior courts.
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