Former ruler, who no longer lives in country, was tried for imposing state of emergency in 2007

Pervez Musharraf, Pakistan’s former military leader who seized power in a coup, has been sentenced to death for high treason and subverting the country’s constitution.

The ex-president was on trial in absentia over charges relating to his suspension of the constitution in 2007 as he attempted to hold on to power.

The trial was held in a closed anti-terrorism court in Islamabad and the full verdict was not made available. However, it was confirmed by the government law officer Salman Nadeem, who stated: “Pervez Musharraf has been found guilty of article 6 for violation of the constitution of Pakistan.”

Defying multiple orders, Musharraf, 76, was not present in court to hear the verdict. He was allowed to leave Pakistan in 2016 for medical treatment in Dubai and has remained there since.

The ruling is highly significant in Pakistan, a country where the military has always held a huge amount of power in the government, even during civilian rule, and has a very close relationship with the current prime minister, Imran Khan. This is also the first time a military leader has been sentenced for subverting the constitution.

Musharraf was head of the armed forces when he led a military coup in 1999 that toppled Nawaz Sharif. The overthrown prime minister was put on trial and eventually forced to flee the country in exile. Musharraf became president in 2001 and stayed in power for seven years, overseeing a period that became notorious for oppression and rampant human rights abuses, and during which he survived multiple assassination attempts.

However, his decision to suspend the constitution in 2007 and impose emergency rule prompted mass protests and he was forced to resign in 2008 and move to self-imposed exile in London to avoid impeachment.

The high treason legal proceedings began in 2014 after Sharif was re-elected prime minister.

Musharraf has long been adamant that the trial was politically motivated. Last month, he issued a video recording from a hospital bed in Dubai in which he said he was not being given a fair hearing in the case, which was filed by the government in 2013. “I served the nation and made decisions for the betterment of the country,” Musharraf said in the video.

In a strongly worded statement, the army said on Tuesday that the ruling had caused “pain and anguish” in the ranks and added: “The due legal process seems to have been ignored.” It said the case had been concluded in haste and that Musharraf “fought wars for the defence of the country [and] can surely never be a traitor”.

Legal experts in Islamabad said Musharraf can challenge the order in the high court.

Musharraf sided with the US in its “war on terror” launched after 9/11. His decision was criticised by religious parties and ushered in years of Islamist violence in Pakistan.