THE gambit has failed: former military strongman Pervez Musharraf will not be jetting out of Pakistan anytime soon — at least on the medical grounds he claims necessitate his treatment abroad. In rejecting Mr Musharraf’s plea, the special court has done the right and obvious thing, both legally and medically. In essence, the team of army doctors who examined Mr Musharraf and submitted their report to the court had suggested that while Mr Musharraf does need further medical treatment, the real problem was the lack of faith the former president had in Pakistani facilities — and not that the facilities themselves were inadequate. From there it was a fairly easy step to rejecting the request for treatment abroad — though, as events have already proved, there is nothing easy about trying a former army chief for suspending the Constitution.

Medically, it is certainly possible that given his age and the stress of his present predicament, Mr Musharraf could still require treatment that can only be provided abroad. If those conditions do arise and are verified by an independent team of medical experts, the court could, and should, consider a fresh request from the Musharraf team at that point. Short of that, however, the only logical path for Mr Musharraf is clear: he should go to court, defend himself against the charges as best he sees fit and leave the process to decide his fate. There is certainly no evidence at all to date that the process of Mr Musharraf’s trial is in any way compromised, non-transparent or in contravention of due process. That also holds true for the other rights he is entitled to. That the former dictator may be unwilling to accept his crimes against the Constitution is not of much relevance or consequence here.

In truth, the window of opportunity for a Musharraf trial is a limited one — as the government privately acknowledges. Had, for example, a military operation been announced by the prime minister on Monday instead of another attempt at talks with the TTP, the Musharraf trial would have been politically dead in the water. For with Mr Musharraf seemingly determined to drag the army as an institution into the issue of his treason trial, it would have been difficult for the government to simultaneously have soldiers being injured or killed in combat while their former chief was being put on trial for treason. That is just the nature of the public-relations game — one the government has no real ability to shape otherwise. So it is good that the court is showing some urgency in pressing ahead. The bailable warrant for Mr Musharraf’s arrest is fairly standard procedure for a defendant who refuses to come to court. Mr Musharraf should go to court on Feb 7.