Pak govt asked to respond to Musharraf extradition petitions

M ZulqernainLahore, Feb 24 (PTI) A Pakistani court today asked thefederal government to respond within 10 days to two petitionsseeking the extradition of former President Pervez Musharrafand the registration of a case of high treason against him.

Justice Sheikh Azmat Saeed of the Lahore High Courtobserved that several months had passed since the petitionswere taken up by the court but the government had not yetfurnished its response to them.

The Deputy Attorney General appeared in the courttoday and sought more time to file a reply.

Saeed then asked the government to submit a reply in10 days and adjourned the case till March 25.

The court was hearing two petitions filed by IlamuddinGhazi and Aziz Ahmad Awan.

Ghazi, a lawyer, levelled 15 allegations against theformer military ruler, who is currently living in self-exilein Britain.

He alleged that Musharraf had dissolved an electedparliament without "any cogent reason just to save his ownskin" in 2007.

He also contended that Musharraf had violated theconstitution by preventing judges of the Supreme Court andHigh Courts from performing their duties.

Accusing Musharraf of killing "thousands" of peopleduring the military operation against Lal Masjid in Islamabad,Ghazi claimed the former president joined the United States inthe war on terror after the 9/11 incident without thecountry''s consent.

Awan, in his petition, had asked the court to issuedirections to the government to extradite Musharraf and seekRed Corner notices from the Interpol in this regard.