Musharraf may leave Pak to visit ailing mom in Dubai

Former President Pervez Musharraf, currently detained over several high profile cases, may leave Pakistan a day ahead of Nawaz Sharif’s formal swearing in as the country’s premier to visit his ailing mother in Dubai, according to a media report Monday.

Musharraf could leave for Dubai on Tuesday in the evening to see his 95-year-old mother, who has been admitted to hospital after developing a ‘serious health problem’, The News daily quoted its sources as saying.

The sources were quoted as saying that an application for bail would be taken up by courts and Musharraf would ask the court to allow him to travel to Dubai immediately to visit his mother.

Musharraf’s request for bail in a case over the killing of Baloch nationalist leader Akbar Bugti in a 2006 military operation would be taken up by another court on Thursday, a day after Sharif assumes the office of Prime Minister.

Musharraf would not be required to appear personally for the plea in court for grant of bail, the report said.

However, the report quoted sources in the Interior Ministry and the office of the Director General for Immigration and Passports as saying that there was no truth in reports about Musharraf being allowed to travel abroad unless the apex court issues an order for the same.

The former military ruler was arrested shortly after he returned to Pakistan from self-exile in March to contest the 11 May general elections.

A court subsequently barred Musharraf from contesting polls for the rest of his life.