ISLAMABAD: Pakistan's ex-military ruler Pervez Musharraf was on Tuesday sentenced to death in the high treason case by a special court here, according to media reports.

A three-member bench of the special court, headed by Peshawar High Court Chief Justice Waqar Ahmad Seth, handed Musharraf, 76, death sentence in the long-drawn high treason case against him for suspending the Constitution and imposing emergency rule in 2007, a punishable offence for which he was indicted in 2014.

The former Army chief left for Dubai for medical treatment in March 2016 and has not returned since, citing security and health reasons.

The special court comprising Justice Seth, Justice Nazar Akbar of the Sindh High Court (SHC) and Justice Shahid Karim of the Lahore High Court announced the verdict it had reserved on November 19, the Dawn newspaper reported.

Since 2016, Musharraf has been living in a self-imposed exile in Dubai for "seeking medical treatment" and has not returned to the country since. He is wanted by authorities in connection to the case.

The high treason trial of the former leader has been pending since December 2013 when he was booked in the case.

He was indicted on March 31, 2014 and the prosecution had tabled the entire evidence before the special court in September the same year.

However, due to litigation at appellate forums, Musharraf's trial lingered on and he left Pakistan in March 2016 "to seek medical treatment."

The former Pakistan President was then declared an absconder as he failed to appear in court despite repeated summons and the court issued a directive to the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) to arrest him.