Musharraf treason case: Court stopped from declaring order

A day before a special court here was set to announce its verdict in the high treason case against former President Gen (retd.) Pervez Musharraf, the Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Wednesday stopped it from declaring the judgement.

The High Court's order after Pakistan's Interior Ministry filed a plea, requesting it to set aside the special court's decision to announce its judgement on November 28, Dawn reported.

The IHC accepted the Interior Ministry's petition and restricted the special court from announcing the judgement.

A similar petition, which was filed by Musharraf, was wrapped up with the High Court issuing directions on it. "We allow writ petition filed by the Ministry of Interior," the court said in its order.

The High Court has directed the Pakistan federal government to notify a new prosecutor or a team of prosecution in the treason case by December 5.

On November 19, the special court had concluded the trial proceedings in the high treason case against Musharraf for declaring a state of emergency in Pakistan on November 3, 2007, and had reserved its order for November 28.