Pervez Musharraf wants to go abroad for treatment: Report

ISLAMABAD: Pervez Musharraf has refused to undergo heart surgery in Pakistan and wants to travel abroad for treatment, according to a report submitted today to a special court conducting the former dictator's treason trial.

Though the report by a medical board was presented to the court in a sealed cover, details were leaked and reported by several news channels.

Sources who read it told reporters that the report said 70-year-old Musharraf's disease was "serious" and could be "life threatening in event of destabilisation particularly under stress".

The report further said Musharraf wants to get an angiography "at a medical facility of his choice" as he feels "there is paucity of advanced cardiac support systems" in Pakistan.

The medical board was set up by the special court to assess Musharraf's health condition after he was admitted to the Armed Forces Institute of Cardiology in Rawalpindi on January 2 with heart problems.

The court said the report will be subjected to cross-examination on January 29, following which it will announce its decision on Musharraf's appearance for hearings.

The government's prosecutor, Akram Sheikh, objected to the findings in the report, which was submitted by the four-member medical board led by Maj General Syed Imran Majeed.

Though Musharraf's lawyer Anwar Mansoor requested the court to keep the report secret, Sheikh said the former army chief was a public figure and it should be made public.

Sheikh demanded that another medical board, comprising cardiologists of Aga Khan Hospital, PIMS Hospital and Shifa International Hospital, should be formed to review the report.

Ahmed Raza Kasuri, a key member of Musharraf's legal team, accused Sheikh of hosting an event for the media to turn them against him. He claimed another medical report on Musharraf was made public and is available on a news channel's website.

The three-judge special court subsequently adjourned proceedings till January 29.

Musharraf faces treason charges for abrogating the Constitution and imposing an emergency in November 2007.

There has been widespread speculation that his ill-health would be used to allow him to leave Pakistan for treatment.