The case that resulted in the death sentence being given to Pervez Musharraf relates to his decision to impose emergency in November 2007.
Former PM Nawaz Sharif initiated the move in 2013 to file a case of high treason against Musharraf over his declaration of extra-constitutional emergency.
Musharraf initially came to power after ousting Sharif in a coup in 1999, and he resorted to declaring an emergency when protests against him gained ground. After declaring an emergency, he suspended the Constitution. The military had serious misgivings about the case and continued to contest it.
The former army chief was indicted in the case in March 2014. Time and again, the military leadership intervened to have the case quashed. When this did not happen, former army chief Raheel Sharif intervened to ensure that Musharraf left the country so that his trial could be stymied.
On March 18, 2016, he left Pakistan for Dubai for medical treatment after his name was removed from the Exit Control List on the orders of the Supreme Court.
A few months later, the special court declared him a “proclaimed offender” and ordered the confiscation of his properties. Later, his passport and ID card were cancelled on the orders of the top court.