[JURIST] The Islamabad Special Court trying former president Pervez Musharraf [BBC profile, JURIST news archive] on Monday granted Musharraf an exemption from personal appearance due to health issues, but has instructed authorities at the Armed Forces Institute of Cardiology (AFIC) [official website] to supply the court with his medical report by Tuesday. The demand came after the former president missed another hearing [Express News report] complaining of chest pain. Prosecutor Akram Sheikh has accused Musharraf of checking into the Rawalpindi hospital to miss hearings rather than to address actual health concerns. Sheikh demanded [The Hindu report] that non-bailable warrants be issued against him but the court refused, calling the action inappropriate. A petition [Pakistan Times report] filed by the Shuhada Foundation seeking to ban Musharraf from leaving the country for medical treatment was also rejected, though the former leader remains on the country’s Exit Control List and cannot leave Pakistan without court approval.

Musharraf has faced a slew of legal troubles. In December the Islamabad High Court ruled [JURIST report] that the former president’s trial for treason would continue despite Musharraf’s challenges to the legitimacy of the proceedings. Earlier that month he was granted bail [JURIST report] in a criminal case relating to the death of a radical cleric. In August the Pakistani interim government declined JURIST report] to try Musharraf for treason because they claimed such action would be outside the scope of their duties. Also that month a Pakistani court officially charged [JURIST report] Musharraf with murder, conspiracy to commit murder and facilitation of murder in the 2007 death of Benazir Bhutto. In April a Pakistan court extended [JURIST report] Musharraf’s bail on charges of illegally detaining judges. That same month, the Peshawar High Court of Pakistan both banned [JURIST report] Musharraf from running for public office for the rest of his life and extended his house arrest during the ongoing trial regarding the murder of Bhutto. In March Human Rights Watch urged [JURIST report] Pakistan to hold Musharraf accountable for alleged human rights abuses upon his return to the country. Msuharraf left Pakistan in 2008 to live in self-imposed exile in Dubai and London after he was defeated by Bhutto’s party.