The former general is accused of a range of offences related to his 1999-2008 rule of the nuclear-armed nation, including treason and the murder of former prime minister Benazir Bhutto.

It has been suggested that one way to avoid such a potentially destabilising clash would be to allow Musharraf to leave the country on compassionate grounds, to see his sick and elderly mother in Dubai.

His legal team have sought permission for him to leave Pakistan in recent weeks, but without success so far.

On Friday the government said judges must decide Musharraf's fate, but offered to bring his 95-year-old mother to Pakistan to continue medical treatment.

"For the sake of fulfilling obligations of humanity, the prime minister of Pakistan is ready to send a special plane or ambulance to bring his mother to Pakistan so that she can live with her son and carry on with her medical treatment here," a government statement said.

The start of Musharraf's trial for treason was delayed on Tuesday because of a bomb scare and the hearing is now expected to go ahead on January 1.

The charges relate to Musharraf's imposition of emergency rule in November 2007 and if found guilty he could face the death penalty or life imprisonment.

His aides and lawyers have dismissed the cases as politically motivated, accusing the government and others of trying to use the courts to settle old scores.

Source: AFP