Pervez Musharraf was in trouble because of his own actions and the former Pakistani military dictator will have to face the legal consequences, a senior minister said.
Information Minister Pervaiz Rashid said 70-year-old Musharraf was physically fit but he had lost his abilities to make decisions.
“The hospital has proved a blind alley for him. If Musharraf comes out, he faces the court while inside the hospital he will be operated and stitched by doctors,” Mr. Rashid said on Saturday after attending a function in Lahore.
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Mr. Musharraf has refused to undergo heart surgery in Pakistan and wants to travel abroad for treatment, according to a report submitted on Saturday to a special court conducting the former dictator’s treason trial.
On Mr. Musharraf’s possible exile, the Minister said the law and the Constitution were supreme and equal.
“There is no room in the law that a culprit could leave the country without being tried,” Mr. Rashid said, adding that Mr. Musharraf would have to face the law.
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The three-judge special court has adjourned proceedings till January 29.
Mr. Musharraf faces treason charges for abrogating the Constitution and imposing an emergency in November 2007.
There has been widespread speculation that his ill-health would be used to allow him to leave Pakistan for treatment.
Mr. Musharraf was taken to the military hospital in Rawalpindi on January 2, after he developed heart problems while being driven to the special court.
This is the first time in Pakistan’s history that a former military ruler has been put on trial for treason and Mr. Musharraf could face life imprisonment or the death penalty if he is convicted.