A special court in Islamabad on Monday sent a questionnaire to former military dictator retired Gen Pervez Musharraf in a case pertaining to charges of high treason against him.
The list, sent under Section 342 of the Code of Criminal Procedures (CrPC), contains 26 queries, including questions regarding the subversion of the Constitution by declaring the state of emergency in November 2007.
Among the questions asked are:
- Is it true that by suspending the Constitution, you subverted the Constitution and were guilty of high treason?
- Did you, as the president, declare the state of emergency on December 15, 2007?
- Is it true that you had taken all the aforementioned measures without consulting the authorities concerned but in your individual capacity?
- Why was this case created against you? Why did the state and its prosecution's witnesses testified against you?
- Is it true that you measures have never been validated by any legal forum?
The questionnaire was dispatched after the court in the last hearing admitted Musharraf's plea for adjournment of the hearing of a high treason case against him till the end of the holy month of Ramazan.
Musharraf, who left Pakistan in 2016 to seek medical treatment but has not returned since, is facing a treason trial under Article 6 of the Constitution as well as Section 2 of the High Treason Act on a complaint moved by the federal government.
The court was scheduled to record his statement to complete the treason trial but the former dictator could not appear before the court due to medical reasons.