The special court formed for the trial of former president Gen (r) Pervez Musharraf resumed the hearing of the treason case against him on Friday.
Headed by Justice Faisal Arab, the three-member bench received Musharraf’s medical report from registrar Abdul Ghani Soomro.
Musharraf’s counsel Anwar Mansoor requested the court to keep the former ruler’s medical report private as a private television previously had published his medical report on its website. He requested the court to order the TV channel to remove the online report.
On this request from the defence, chief prosecutor Akram Shaikh said that the constitution has a provision of a free press. He said different provisions apply for public figures and private persons in the constitution, adding that Musharraf had claimed to be a public figure.
Justice Arab responded that the bench would first review the report.
Last week, the court had ordered Armed Forces Institute of Cardiology (AFIC) to form a medical board to assess the former president’s health condition and submit the report by January 24.
On January 2, Musharraf was taken to the AFIC on complaint of heartache en-route to the special court.
