ISLAMABAD: Now that the special court has made public its opinion of retired General Pervez Musharraf’s purported illness and ordered his arrest warrants to be issued, legal experts believe that the military dictator’s indictment is imminent.

An indictment means that once Musharraf is presented in court on Feb 7, the next date of hearing, the charges against him would be read out and the trial under Article 6 of the Constitution will formally begin.

Till now the special court has not begun the trial — it has simply been listening to petitions filed by Musharraf’s legal team questioning the trial, the bench and so on.

In other words, Musharraf can no longer avoid a trial — unless he escapes the country. He cannot hide any longer.

The special court had decided to indict him on Jan 1, but the former president did not appear before the court — because of security concerns and then later because he was admitted to the Armed Forces Institute of Cardiology.

However, on Friday the court finally declared that the military doctors had not stopped Musharraf from attending the proceedings and issued bailable warrants of arrest. Now a police officer — most probably the IG — will be ordered by the interior ministry to present the arrest warrants to Musharraf. The ministry can pass these orders as early as today (Saturday).

However, the police officer will not arrest Musharraf as he can get bail by depositing Rs2.5 million and assuring the police officer that he will attend court proceedings in future, said senior advocate Sardar Mohammad Ishaq, an expert in criminal cases.

“Musharraf will get bail after giving an undertaking for his appearance in the special court on the next date of hearing,” he said.

“In case anyone tries to obstruct the process of the court, the bench can also summon him. Or the police official can also register an FIR against those people who will create hurdles in compliance of court orders,” he pointed out as he explained what would happen if the police officer deputed to arrest Musharraf was stopped from approaching the former dictator at the hospital.

However, not many people are willing to predict that anyone will stop the police from approaching Musharraf at AFIC, the hospital run by the military.

According to advocate Ishaq, now the only solution is for Musharraf to appear in the court and be tried. “He might be acquitted of the charges if the prosecution fails to prove its case against him. Musharraf can also challenge the order of the special court in the appellate forum to get some relief,” he told Dawn.

Mohammad Akram Sheikh, head of the prosecution team, thinks time has run out for Musharraf. “Musharraf will be indicted the day he appears in court,” he claimed.

“After his indictment the prosecution will take a week to present the evidence and witnesses in the high treason case,” he said.

However, like Ishaq, Sheikh too felt that Musharraf now had to appear in court. “In case he fails to appear before the court on Feb 7, the court will issue his non-bailable warrants and subsequently declare him a proclaimed offender and absconder,” he added.

Musharraf’s legal team did not share these views. They were still hopeful of a way out.

Advocate Faisal Hussain Chaudhry, one of Musharraf’s lawyers, thinks that there is a possibility of avoiding indictment even now. “Gen Musharraf is not reluctant to appear before the special court,” he said.

“Since he has challenged the establishment of the special court and the matter is sub judice, he has been advised by the panel of lawyers not to attend the proceedings,” he claimed.

“We can challenge the order of the special court in superior courts before Feb 7, the next date of hearing. In addition, Gen Musharraf can also file a petition asking that his name be removed from the ECL in the appellate forums to get medical treatment abroad.”