LAHORE: A Pakistani High Court on Monday ruled that the formation of a special court that last month handed former Pakistani military ruler Pervez Musharraf a death sentence was unconstitutional, casting into doubt the legitimacy of the verdict.

Musharraf was sentenced to death in absentia by a special court in December last year on treason charges stemming from his imposition of a state of emergency in 2007.

Musharraf had challenged the formation of a special court for the sole purpose of trying him for treason.

It was not immediately clear if the ruling by the High Court in Lahore would automatically nullify the death sentence, but Musharraf’s side was confident.

Musharraf, who seized power in a 1999 coup and later ruled as president until 2008, remains out of the country on medical grounds.

(Agencies)