For the past month three judges, 20-odd lawyers and scores of journalists have assembled in the auditorium of Islamabad's heavily defended National Library building. There, a special court has the task of deciding whether Pervez Musharraf, a former army chief who seized power in 1999 and ruled for eight years, is guilty of high treason. Yet the main player in the drama has remained defiantly absent. Mr Musharraf rashly returned from self-imposed exile in London last year in hopes of contesting a general election. Almost immediately, charges began piling up against him and he was put under house arrest. Now a series of fortunate events have conspired to spare Mr Musharraf the indignity of appearing in the dock. On two mornings scheduled for court hearings, small bombs were found along the route from Mr Musharraf's mansion in Islamabad's suburbs. His lawyers argued that it was unsafe for him to leave home.
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