Former military ruler Pervez Musharraf hearing to begin amid high security

Pakistani authorities on Thursday deployed thousands of personnel to secure former military ruler Pervez Musharraf’s journey to his treason hearing, officials said.

Around 2,000 police and paramilitary rangers guarded the two-kilometre stretch from his house to the Islamabad court where the special tribunal was sitting, police chief Sikandar Hayat said.

Mr Musharraf has twice refused to attend indictment hearings, citing security concerns.

He faces treason charges for suspending the Constitution and declaring a state of emergency in 2007.

The charges carry a minimum penalty of life in prison, and up to the death sentence.

There are fears that the trial would put the country’s civilian administration on a collision course with the powerful military, where there is still considerable support for the former general and ruler.

The charges were brought by Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, who was ousted from an earlier premiership by Mr Musharraf in 1999 in a bloodless coup.