Vowing to bring former president Pervez Musharraf to the court soon, former prime minister Nawaz Sharif on Friday said, "The time has come for those who violated the Constitution to be punished".

While speaking to PML-N workers and leaders following the Friday congregation, Sharif said: "The courts will have to be awakened on Musharraf's cases."

Sharif, whose second term as the prime minister ended as a result of the then army chief Musharraf's coup in October 1999, said that the former president is a "coward" and is making excuses to stay abroad. "If he is so brave, he should come to Pakistan and face the cases."

Earlier this week, for the first time since Nawaz's disqualification at the hands of Supreme Court, the Sharif family publicly said that initiation of a treason case against Musharraf by the PML-N government was the reason behind his ouster.

“Will we see any court hold Musharraf accountable for his crimes?” Sharif had asked, expressing hope that "it would happen one day".

Musharraf is currently facing trial in the Benazir Bhutto murder case.

A day after Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari's chants of "Musharraf qatil" on Benazir's death anniversary commemoration at Gari Khuda Bux, Musharraf issued a video message, saying that there was no evidence against him in the case.

He had added that Sharif and Bilawal had suddenly begun making statements against him to pressurise the army.

In response, Bilawal had demanded Musharraf to come back to Pakistan and "face his court cases, if he has the courage to do so".

Musharraf has been declared an absconder in a treason case and that of Benazir Bhutto's murder by the Supreme Court and an anti-terrorism court, respectively. He left the country for Dubai last year on the pretext of receiving a medical treatment.

"I am a commando and I love my homeland. I will come back in a few weeks or months," he had said before leaving.