A Pakistani court has sentenced former military ruler Pervez Musharraf to death in absentia for treason over his 2007 imposition of emergency rule.
Such a verdict is a first in a country with a history of army rule. The military reacted angrily, saying legal process "seems to have been ignored".
The general seized power in a 1999 coup and was president from 2001 to 2008.
The penalty is unlikely to be carried out. Gen Musharraf was allowed to leave Pakistan in 2016 and is in Dubai.
The high treason charge has been pending since 2013. It relates to Gen Musharraf's suspension of the constitution in 2007, when he declared an emergency in a move intended to extend his tenure.
The 76-year-old says he is receiving medical treatment in Dubai. He issued a video statement from a hospital bed earlier this month, describing the case against him as "baseless".
Three judges at the special court in Islamabad found him guilty by two to one.
What is the case about?
In November 2007, Gen Musharraf suspended the constitution and imposed emergency rule - a move which sparked protests. He resigned in 2008 to avoid the threat of impeachment.
Image copyrightHANDOUT VIA GETTYImage captionGen Musharraf resigned from office in 2008
When Nawaz Sharif - an old rival whom he deposed in the 1999 coup - was elected prime minister in 2013, he initiated a treason trial against Gen Musharraf and in March 2014 the former general was charged for high treason.
Gen Musharraf argued the case was politically motivated and that the actions he took in 2007 were agreed by the government and cabinet. But his arguments were turned down by the courts and he was accused of acting illegally.
According to the Pakistani constitution, anyone convicted of high treason could face the death penalty. Gen Musharraf travelled to Dubai in 2016 after a travel ban was lifted and he has refused to appear before the court, despite multiple orders.
Image copyrightAPMLImage captionIn a video, Gen Musharraf said he was not receiving a fair hearing
The three-member bench had reserved its verdict in the long-running case last month, but was stopped from announcing it by a petition filed by the federal government to the Islamabad High Court.
Why is it significant?
The indictment of Gen Musharraf in 2014 for treason was a highly significant moment in a country where the military has held sway for much of its independent history.
Image copyrightAFPImage captionGen Musharraf is known internationally for his support of the US "war on terror"
Many of Pakistan's army chiefs have either ruled the country directly after coups, as Gen Musharraf did, or wielded significant influence over policymaking during periods of civilian rule.
But Gen Musharraf was the first army chief to be charged with such a crime and the powerful military have watched the case carefully.
It said the court ruling had been "received with a lot of pain and anguish by rank and file of the Pakistan Armed Forces".
"An ex-Army Chief, Chairman Joint Chief of Staff Committee and President of Pakistan, who has served the country for over 40 years, fought wars for the defence of the country can surely never be a traitor," a statement said.
Media captionHow much influence does the Pakistani army have in politics?
Analysts say the institution is deeply aware that how the case proceeds could set a precedent.
Many expect the judgement to be delayed by an appeal by Gen Musharraf's lawyers and it unclear if a request to have him returned would be successful as there is no formal extradition treaty between Pakistan and the UAE, the BBC's M Ilyas Khan reports.
North Korea conducts crucial test at Sohae launch site
North Korea has conducted another "crucial test" at its Sohae satellite launch site, state media reported Saturday, as nuclear negotiations between Pyongyang and Washington remain stalled with a deadline approaching.
(Representative Image)
North Korea has conducted another "crucial test" at its Sohae satellite launch site, state media reported Saturday, as nuclear negotiations between Pyongyang and Washington remain stalled with a deadline approaching.
The announcement comes a day before US Special Envoy on North Korea Stephen Biegun is set to arrive in Seoul for a three-day visit, and after the United States tested a medium-range ballistic missile over the Pacific Ocean on Thursday.
"Another crucial test was successfully conducted at the Sohae Satellite Launching Ground from 22:41 to 22:48 on December 13," a spokesman for the North's National Academy of Defence Science said in a statement carried by the official KCNA news agency.
The "research successes" will be "applied to further bolstering up the reliable strategic nuclear deterrent" of North Korea, the spokesman added.
The statement did not provide further details on the test.
Late on Saturday the Chief of the General Staff Pak Jon Chon said North Korea was using recent tests to develop new technologies and strategic weapons.
"The priceless data, experience and new technologies gained in the recent tests of defense science research will be fully applied to the development of another strategic weapon," he said in a statement, also carried by KCNA.
Sohae, on North Korea's northwest coast, is ostensibly a facility designed for putting satellites into orbit.
But Pyongyang has carried out several rocket launches there that were condemned by the US and others as disguised long-range ballistic missile tests.
The North is banned from firing ballistic missiles under UN Security Council resolutions, and rocket engines can be easily repurposed for use in missiles.
Frustrated by the lack of sanctions relief after three summits with President Donald Trump, North Korea has vowed an ominous "Christmas gift" if the US does not come up with concessions by the end of the year.
Some analysts have suggested the North may be referring to an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM).
Earlier this month the North announced it conducted what it called a "very important test" at the same site in Sohae.
"It's very likely that the North is going to fire something on Christmas day, and they may call it a rocket system when it actually is an ICBM," Ahn Chan-il, a North Korean defector and researcher in Seoul, told AFP.
"The tests at Sohae can be seen as a form of preparation for the launch - whatever it will be - on December 25."
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un had agreed to shutter the Sohae site during a summit last year with South Korean President Moon Jae-in in Pyongyang as part of trust-building measures.
Kim has also held three meetings with US President Donald Trump since June 2018.
But his nuclear negotiations with Washington have been deadlocked since a summit in Hanoi broke up in February, and Pyongyang has issued a series of increasingly assertive comments in recent weeks as its time limit approaches.
The North this week criticised Washington as "foolish" for convening a UN Security Council meeting over growing concern about short-range rockets fired from the isolated state.
By arranging the meeting, Washington "decisively helped us make a definite decision on what way to choose," North Korea's foreign ministry spokesman said.
Last week, the North's vice foreign minister warned of returning to a war of words with the US, threatening to resume referring to Trump as a "dotard" -- Pyongyang's nickname for the US leader at the height of tensions in 2017.
The comments came a day after it warned that if the US used military force against the North it would take "prompt corresponding actions at any level".
Back in 2017 North Korea announced it successfully tested an ICBM capable of reaching Alaska.
At the recent NATO summit, Trump boasted about Washington's "most powerful military", adding: "Hopefully, we don't have to use it, but if we do, we'll use it. If we have to, we'll do it
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