Pakistani court orders release of man who attacked Musharraf

ISLAMABAD (AP) — Pakistan’s Supreme Court on Monday ordered the release of a man on completion of his jail term in connection with the 2003 assassination attempt on the country’s former President Pervez Musharraf, a defense lawyer said.

Rana Tanveer had been sentenced to 14 years in 2005 by a military court that convicted him of playing a role in the attack on Musharraf in 2003. Musharraf narrowly escaped two back-to-back bomb and gun attacks on his convoy in the garrison city of Rawalpindi.

Tanveer’s lawyer, Hashmat Habib, said his client has not been released despite completing his jail term.

He said he hoped that Tanveer will be freed under Monday’s order from the Supreme Court.

Musharraf seized power in 1999 when he ousted the government of former premier Nawaz Sharif in a military coup. He resigned in 2008 and has been living in exile in Dubai since 2016, when he left Pakistan to receive medical treatment.