ISLAMABAD: Former president Gen (retd) Pervez Musharraf could not appear before the Special Court on Thursday as he was admitted to the Armed Forces Institute of Cardiology (AFIC) due to heart problem.
The three-member Specail Court headed by Justice Faisal Arab was apprised that Musharraf was on way to the court when he felt some heart problem and was moved to the AFIC in emergency.
The court exempted Musharraf from appearing before the court for today and decided not to issue arrest warrants against him as requested by the special prosecutor.
The court, in its order, observed that the court would refrain from passing any strict orders against the accused since he started off for appearance, but due to the heart problem could not reach the court. The court later adjourned the case till January 6.
Earlier, during the proceedings, there was an exchange of harsh words between Musharraf's lawyers and prosecution team.
Justice Faisal Arab had to adjour the proceedings for two times to calm down the situation.
Anwar Mansoor, counsel for Musharraf, alleged that he could not sleep due to threats and constant knocking of his gate the whole night by some unknown persons.
Requesting for the adjournment of case, Mansoor pleaded that he was not in a good state of mind.
Justice Faisal Arab remarked that the main issue before the court was the presence of Pervez Musharraf who was constantly absent from the hearing.
He said the court could wait for Mushrraf's arrival as another counsel of Musharraf had apprised the court that the accused was on his way to the court.
Akram Sheikh, special prosecutor, complained that his team was not provided an opportunity to argue the case.
He said Musharraf's laweyers had filed frivolous application and sought permission to present objections.
However, the court did not allow him observing that the prosecution team would be given appropriate time to argue.
During the proceedings, the DIG Islamabad Police informed the court that Musharraf was shifted to the AFIC due to the heart problem. The court stopped the hearing and adjourned the case.
Pervez Musharraf is being tried under Article 6 of the Constitution in the high treason case on the charges of suspending, subverting and abrogating the Constitution and imposing emergency in the country on November 3, 2007.
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