Musharraf may be put on trial in UK: British lawmaker

A British lawmaker of Pakistani origin has talked of the possibility of former President Pervez Musharraf being tried in the UK as he failed to respond to summons from the top court in Islamabad over his controversial decisions to impose emergency and fire judges two years ago.

Musharraf, who is now in London as part of his extensive lecture tour, snubbed summons yesterday to appear before a 14-member bench headed by Pakistan Chief Justice Iftikhar M Chaudhary, who had himself been a victim of the military dictator.

Lord Nazir Ahmed, who became UK's first Muslim life peer in 1998, said that a case can be lodged in the International Court of Justice (ICJ) against the former Pakistani president, the Geo news has reported. Interacting with mediapersons here yesterday, Lord Nazir said Musharraf can be tried in London.

He underlined that a 'Victim Support Group' will be formed against Musharraf, the Pakistani TV channel reported. Neither the former head of state, who lost power last year and who has now turned a bitter critic of his democratic successors, nor his legal representatives appeared before the court.

Musharraf, who seized power in a military coup in 1999, had sacked Chief Justice Chaudhary and dozens of other judges, fearing that the top judge would disqualify him from contesting as President while still in uniform.

The Supreme Court had on July 22 issued notice to Musharraf to explain his actions of imposing emergency on November 3, 2007 and deposing over 60 members of the superior judiciary who did not endorse the measure.

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