Former president Gen (retd) Pervez Musharraf on Friday filed a petition in the Lahore High Court challenging a special court’s verdict sentencing him to death in a high treason case. The petition filed by Azhar Siddique on behalf of Musharraf in the High Court stated that Musharraf was not given a chance to present his arguments and that the “special court quite abruptly and hurriedly wrapped up a trial that was far from its conclusion. The verdict marked the first time in Pakistan’s history that a military chief was declared guilty of high treason and handed a death sentence. The 86 page-long petition, filed by Advocate Azhar Siddique on Musharraf’s behalf, named the federal government and others as respondents. The verdict assumes to be significant as it is for the first time in the history of the country that a military chief has been declared guilty of high treason and handed the death sentence. On December 5, the new prosecution team for the government appeared before the special court after which the special court adjourned proceedings till December 17, adding that it would hear arguments and announce the verdict on the same day.