Imran Khan government to defend Musharraf

Islamabad/New Delhi: Pakistan government has decided to defend former President and Army chief Pervez Musharraf, who was granted death sentence on Tuesday by a special court in a case of high treason.

Anwar Mansoor, the Attorney General of Pakistan, at a joint press conference with Firdous Ashiq Awan, special assistant to Prime Minister Imran Khan, late on Tuesday night announced that the sentence was "unfair". The government, they said, had decided to appeal the verdict and defend Musharraf.

Former dictator of Pakistan, Pervez Musharraf lives in Dubai under a self-imposed exile. The 76-year-old retired general is being treated at a Dubai hospital for old age ailments.

Pakistani media quoted the Attorney General saying the verdict "raised questions about urgency in pronouncing the judgement when Musharraf was in a critical condition in ICU in Dubai." The judgement, Mansoor said, was announced in absentia without recording the statement of the accused.

The Attorney General said that one of the major problems with the case was that those who may have assisted Musharraf to enforce emergency in Pakistan had not been made co-accused in the case.

The special court gave death sentence to Musharraf for committing high treason of imposing emergency in the country. He has also been declared an absconder in the Benazir Bhutto assassination case.

Prime Minister Imran Khan's spokesman also criticised the opposition for "maligning the army" by commenting on the court verdict. Imran Khan has also called an urgent meeting of his Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf over the issue.