On December 17, the special court handed a death sentence to Musharraf in the case

The Lahore High Court on Monday annulled the death sentence given to former military dictator Pervez Musharraf by the special court earlier in the high treason case against him, news agency AFP reported.

A wave of controversy was sparked in Pakistan after a session court ruled the death sentence to Musharraf. It was the first time a former leader of the armed forces had faced such a sentence for treason in Pakistan.

According to the report, The Lahore court ruled the previous judgement "illegal" and there is "no judgement against him any longer".

"Yes, he is a free man. Right now there is no judgement against him any longer," news agency AFP quoted the prosecutor representing the government, Ishtiaq A. Khan as saying.

"The filing of the complaint, the constitution of the court, the selection of the prosecution team are illegal, declared to be illegal... And at the end of the day the full judgment has been set aside," Khan said.

Musharraf's lawyer, Azhar Siddique, also told media outside the court in Lahore that it has "nullified everything".

The prosecution now has the option to file a new case against Musharraf with the approval of the federal Cabinet. 

In 2013, Musharraf was booked in the treason case for imposing a state of emergency in the country on November 3, 2007, and suspending the Constitution till the mid of December 2007. 

He was handed down the death penalty by the special court on December 17 with a two to one majority.

Musharraf first took power after ousting prime minister Nawaz Sharif in a bloodless coup in 1999.