Pakistan’s former military ruler, 70-year-old General Pervez Musharraf, failed to appear in court for the start of his trial on treason charges on Wednesday after an explosive device was reportedly found near his home in the capital, Islamabad.
The former president, who was forced from office in 2008 but returned from exile last year, could face the death penalty or life imprisonment, if convicted.
But the trial presents numerous risks for Pakistan as well, threatening to destabilise precarious relations between its civilian rulers and powerful army, in turn raising worries about the impact on the wider region as the US prepares to drawdown forces in neighbouring Afghanistan later this year.
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