DHAKA: A court in Pakistan has charged former military ruler Pervez Musharraf with treason, the first army chief to face such a prosecution.

Musharraf is accused of unlawfully suspending the constitution and instituting emergency rule in 2007.

He pleaded not guilty and has always claimed that the charges against him are politically motivated. He faces the death penalty if convicted.

President from 2001 to 2008, he was one of Pakistan’s longest-serving rulers.

He went into self-imposed exile in 2008, returning to Pakistan in March 2013.

He had hoped to lead his party into elections, but was disqualified from standing and found himself fighting an array of charges relating to his time in power.

The 70-year-old has been in hospital since the beginning of the year and reports say he is being treated for high blood pressure, reports the BBC.

BDST: 1328 HRS, MAR 31, 2014