Pakistani Court Orders Ex-President’s Corpse Hung Outside Parliament for Three Days

Not only was former Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf sentenced to death for treason on Tuesday, but on Thursday a special rider was attached to his death sentence stipulating that if he dies before he can be executed, his corpse must be “dragged” to the street outside parliament and “hanged for three days.”

Reuters judged the order “symbolic” and most likely unconstitutional, suspecting it was issued as part of a running feud between the Pakistani judiciary and military. 

“There is only one precedent – a court sentenced a serial killer to hanging at a public place and his body to be cut into 100 pieces in front of the families of the victims. The sentence was never carried out,” Reuters observed.

Musharraf, 76, lives in “self-imposed exile” in Dubai, where he is currently undergoing medical treatment. He released a videotaped statement from a Dubai hospital last month denouncing the charges of treason against him as “baseless.” On Wednesday he issued a new statement describing his death sentence as a “personal vendetta” against him.

Musharraf was first charged with treason in 2014 after his rival Nawaz Sharif became prime minister, but was allowed to leave Pakistan in 2016 and relocated to Dubai. He refused to appear before the court, which rejected his offer to submit testimony by video from Dubai and was convicted in absentia.

Musharraf’s lawyers have indicated he will appeal his conviction. The court ordered him apprehended, but he does not appear to be in immediate danger of arrest, as the United Arab Emirates has no extradition treaty with Pakistan.