NEW DELHI, April 8 - RAPSI. The Supreme Court of Pakistan has forbidden former president and high-ranking general Pervez Musharraf from leaving the country and has ordered him to appear in court where treason charges are presently pending against him.

Musharraf seized power of the country by way of a successful coup d’état in 1999. He retained control until a dramatic series of events led him to relinquish his power in 2008.

According to a BBC Profile on his life, Musharraf spearheaded the former prime minister Nawaz Sharif’s ouster in an effort to bring law, order, and democracy to Pakistan. He made powerful enemies, however, when after the 9/11 terror attacks in the US he joined forces with the US in its “War on Terror.” This provoked enormous tensions with Islamic militants within Pakistan. In July 2007, he ordered security forces to storm the Red Mosque in Islamabad, based on its allegedly increasing efforts to enforce strict Sharia Law in the capital city. The operation resulted in upwards of 100 casualties.

Musharraf then struggled a great deal with the Supreme Court. In March 2007, he suspended the country’s chief justice. Large-scale protests force him to reinstate the chief justice in July of the same year. He sought reelection to the presidency, but faced disapproval from the Supreme Court. Political pressure continued to mount against him, prompting him to declare a state of emergency that November, during which time he ordered the replacement of a number of Supreme Court justices, according to the BBC Profile.

Musharraf was reelected in 2008, but was forced to resign shortly thereafter amidst allegations of impropriety over the state of emergency scandal and other charges. He soon fled the country to London. However, he returned in late March for the first time since his resignation despite death threats from the Taliban, giving rise to the present proceedings.

He returned in a bid to rejoin the Pakistani political sphere, in anticipation of the upcoming parliamentary elections, according to JURIST Legal News & Research.

Lawyers petitioned the court Monday to launch treason charges against Musharraf.

Petitioners argued that Musharraf should be tried for treason for imposing the state of emergency and reshuffling the Supreme Court in 2007. According to lawyers arguing before the Supreme Court Monday, the move undermined the independence of the judiciary.

According to JURIST Legal News & Research, Pakistani authorities have also charged that Musharraf played a role in the 2007 assassination of former prime minister Benazir Bhutto.

If convicted, Musharraf may face execution, according to JURIST.