Move FM Global News

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan – Former Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf who was lauded by world leaders including former U.S. President George W. Bush, has been sentenced to death for high treason.

The retired general was tried in absentia after leaving his country several years ago to undergo medical treatment in Dubai.

He has been found guiltyof violating the constitution by unlawfully declaring emergency rule while he was in power.

A divided special court in the capital Islamabad voted two to 1 that capital punishment be imposed.

The court announced it’s verdict on Tuesday despite several weeks of attempts by the Pakistan government and Musharraf’s lawyers to extend the case.

The former president has appealed from his hospital bed abroad for the court to allow him to provide testimony from the hospital.

In a videotape which has been widely circulated in Pakistan, Musharraf claims his trial has been unfairly conducted.

Musharraf went out of office in 2008, the same year George W. Bush ended his second term. The two were allies for most of the 2000s in the so-called War on Terror.

Musharraf moved to Dubai where he has been in exile since that time.

He went back to Pakistan in 2013 to participate in a general election, but was disqualified and placed under house arrest on charges related to his decision to impose a state of emergency in 2007.

In 2014, he was able to leave the country again to seek medical treatment.

Musharraf claims his trial was politically motivated and that his only goal was to serve Pakistan as a military commander and later as president. Two weeks ago, he was admitted to hospital in Dubai after suffering heart and blood pressure problems.

The controversial figures has his critics and supporters in Pakistan. He seized power in 1999 in a military coup.