ISLAMABAD: A special court hearing the high treason case against former military ruler Pervez Musharraf on Wednesday declared him a proclaimed offender due to his continuous absence from the court. The three-member special court headed by Peshawar High Court Chief Justice Mazhar Alam Miankhel directed the federal government to advertise in the media that Musharraf had been declared a proclaimed offender. When the court resumed the hearing of the case against Musharraf over proclamation of emergency in the country on November 3, 2007, Federal Investigative Agency (FIA) officials informed the court that they came to know during visits to Musharraf’s Karachi and Islamabad residences that he had gone abroad for medical treatment. Justice Miankhel said the court could issue Red Warrants and confiscate Musharraf’s properties if he does not appear in the court at the next hearing. The judge sought the record of all properties owned by Musharraf and directed the FIA to produce the former president in the court within 30 days. Ads showing the former president as a proclaimed offender should be displayed at his residence as well as the court hearing the case against him, the judge said, adjourning the case until July 12.
