ISLAMABAD: Judges of the special court constituted to try former military ruler Gen (r) Pervez Musharraf for treason on Friday rejected the objections raised by the former president's legal team.
Lawyers for the former general had filed three applications challenging the appointment of the head of the prosecution team, the establishment and jurisdiction of the special court accusing its judges of bias against Musharraf.
During the hearing, lead judge, Justice Faisal Arab, read out the 27-page verdict, which had been reserved earlier on Feb 18.
Following the hearing, Justice Arab said the three-member tribunal had dismissed Musharraf's objections.
The judges have set March 11 as the date to indict the former general, who was ordered to appear in person to hear the charges being read out against him.
He was first ordered to appear before the tribunal on Dec 24, but has missed repeated hearings since then due to bomb scares and health problems that saw him complain of a heart ailment.
The former military dictator appeared in person before the judges for the first time last month after repeated delays.
Musharraf is facing treason charges, which can carry the death penalty, over his imposition of a state of emergency in 2007 while he was president.
Defence lawyers had previously contended that unless the jurisdiction of the court was decided, Gen Musharraf could not be indicted.
The 70-year old is also facing three other high-profile cases which include his alleged involvement in the assassination of former prime minister Benazir Bhutto, the killing of Baloch nationalist leader Nawab Akbar Bugti and the case relating to the murder of Lal Masjid cleric Abdul Rasheed Ghazi during the army operation on the mosque in 2007.