Court acquits Pervez Musharraf in Akbar Bugti murder case
The court has accepted acquittal pleas of the accused
QUETTA (Web Desk / AFP) - An anti-terrorism court (ATC) in Quetta has acquitted former president Pervez Musharraf in the murder case of Baloch tribal leader Nawab Akbar Bugti today (Monday), Dunya News reported.
ATC Judge Jan Muhammad Gohar announced the verdict on acquittal pleas of three accused including Pervez Musharraf, former interior minister Aftab Ahmed Khan Sherpao and former home minister of Balochistan Mir Shoaib Nowsherwani under section 265.
During the hearing, the court also rejected the request by Nawabzada Jamil Akbar Bugti, son of Nawab Akbar Bugti, to order exhumation of his father’s body to ensure identity of the body.
Jamil Bugti’s lawyer Sohail Rajpoot told the reporters outside the court that he will raise voice against the court verdict at every forum to seek justice.
"It’s an injustice and a joke," Suhail Rajput told media, vowing to challenge the decision.
On the other hand, the court has also issued arrest warrants for other three accused including former prime minister Shaukat Aziz, Governor Balochistan Awais Ahmed Ghani and former DC Dera Bugti Abdul Samad. The case hearing has been adjourned till arrest of the accused.
Nawab Akbar Bugti, former chief minister of Balochistan and head of his tribe, was killed in 2006 in a military operation ordered by Musharraf who was president and army chief at the time.
Musharraf was indicted by the ATC on January 14 last year in the murder case.
Bugti had led an armed campaign to press for provincial autonomy and a greater share of profits for the province from Balochistan‘s natural resources.
Nawabzada Jamil Akbar Bugti, son of the Baloch chieftain, had named Musharraf and other former ministers in the murder of his father.
OTHER CASES AGAINST MUSHARRAF
Musharraf returned to Pakistan to run in the national election held in May 2013 but was disqualified from participating in the vote because of his actions while in office.
The retired general, who took power in a 1999 coup and stepped down from office in disgrace nearly a decade later, faces a litany of legal problems.
He was also charged with murder, conspiracy to commit murder and facilitation for Benazir Bhutto’s murder. He is also facing trial in high treason case for abrogating the constitution in 2007 and illegal detention of judges same year.
Musharraf has been under house arrest in Karachi while the cases have ground through Pakistan’s slow legal system, moving from adjournment to adjournment with little clear progress apart from the granting of bail.
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