Former military ruler General (retd) Pervez Musharraf was taken to hospital on Thursday after he complained of chest pain while on his way to appear before the special court hearing the treason case against him.

Police sources said Musharraf has been shifted to the Armed Forces Institute of Cardiology, Rawalpindi, where he was under treatment.

Earlier, it was reported that Musharraf had left his Chak Shahzad farmhouse to appear before the special court, which is hearing the case of treason against him.

Ensuring strict security arrangements, various roads were blocked while mobile services were also jammed along the route. Almost 1,600 personnel were deployed for the security of Pervez Musharraf.

The court interrupted the hearing till 4 pm for a ruling after prosecutor Akram Sheikh told the special court that Musharraf has been admitted to the hospital, which he said, is a bid to avoid appearance in the court.

He asked the court to issue non-bailable arrest warrants against Musharraf. 

Musharraf's counsel‚ Khalid Ranjha told the court that his client was on his way to court when he had to be shifted to Armed Forces of Institute of Cardiology due to cardiac pain. At the start of the proceedings‚ the court said it would issue an appropriate order if Musharraf did not appear before it. The court directed that CCTV cameras should be installed outside the court to avoid any untoward incident.

The head of Musharraf's defence team, senior lawyer Sharifuddin Pirzada, claimed that the chief prosecutor in the case, advocate Akram Shaikh, had threatened him.

Earlier‚ his lawyers sought exemption for him from appearance in the court. The special court, which had summoned the retired General on January 2, had ordered the former dictator to appear in court, warning that his arrest warrants would be issued in case of failure to comply with the court's orders.

The Special Court on Thursday decided not to issue arrest warrant against former President Pervez Musharraf as he failed to appear before the court due to sudden sickness. The hearing will be resumed on January 6. According to the short order, Musharraf was exempted from personally appearing before the court on medical grounds.