Balochistan High Court on Monday issued an arrest warrant against former Pakistan Prime Minister General Pervez Musharraf in connection with the alleged murder of former Baloch leader Nawab Akbar Khan Bugti in a military operation in 2006, PTI reported. The divisional bench quashed the verdict of the Anti-Terrorism Court that had acquitted Musharraf in the case in January this year because of lack of evidence.
The court was hearing a review petition filed by Bugti’s son Nawabzada Jamil Bugti. During the hearing, Musharraf’s counsel Akhtar Shah said the 73-year-old leader cannot appear before the court because of “security reasons”. To this, Justice Jamal Mandokhail and Justice Zaheeruddin Kakar asked the administration to ensure adequate security for Musharraf when he appears in court.
Bugti, who was the Jamhoori Wattan Party chief, had led an armed protest to demand for provincial autonomy and was killed along with his 26 comrades during an operation in Taratani, Kohlu district, on August 26, 2006. The former governor of Balochistan was killed in an explosion at his hide-out cave, reported Geo News.
The Bugti family had registered an FIR in 2009, accusing Musharraf of murder because he had ordered the military operation, under Sections 302 and 304 of the Pakistan Penal Code, reported Dawn.
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