A special court in Pakistan has sentenced Gen. Pervez Musharraf — the country's former military leader — to death for high treason. The unprecedented punishment isn't likely to be carried out: Musharraf was tried in absentia because he now lives in Dubai, the United Arab Emirates. But Pakistan's military is criticizing the ruling, saying it has caused a "lot of pain and anguish" in its ranks.

"Due legal process seems to have been ignored," says Armed Forces spokesperson Maj. Gen. Asif Ghafoor, after the court issued a death sentence to the former army chief. In a statement released via Twitter, Ghafoor added that someone who "served the country for over 40 years, fought wars for the defense of the country can surely never be a traitor."

Musharraf, who has said he's too ill to travel to Pakistan, did not immediately issue a reaction to the death sentence — other than to retweet the military's statement. He has previously rejected the charges against him, and he has the right to appeal the special court's death sentence.

Musharraf was accused of treason in 2014 on charges related to his rise to power in 1999, when he ousted Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif in a coup d'etat. During his rule, Musharraf also imposed a state of emergency in Pakistan, putting several key judges under house arrest during a purge in 2007.

Sharif later returned to office, triggering the treason charges against Musharraf – but the general was allowed to leave Pakistan in 2016 to seek medical treatment.