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Pakistani court refuses to grant exemption to Mushararf in murder case

Xinhua, March 17, 2015 Adjust font size:

An anti-terrorism court in Pakistan on Tuesday refused to grant indefinite exemption to former President Pervez Musharraf from appearance in a murder case of a tribal chief, lawyers said.

Musharraf has been formally indicted for ordering the killing of Nawab Akber Bugti, who was killed in a raid by security forces in southwestern Balochistan province in 2006. Mushararf was the country's president that time. Musharraf has denied the charges and describes the case as politically-motivated.

The judge, on previous hearing, had ordered Musharraf to appear; however, he was not in the court in Quetta, the capital of Balochistan, on Tuesday.

The court had also ordered formation of a medical board to determine the health condition of Musharraf as his lawyer had argued his client could not appear because of poor health.

Musharraf's lawyer complained that the government has not provided security to the former president for appearance before the medical board.

The court ordered security for Musharraf and granted one-day exemption and fixed the next hearing on April 8.

The prosecution insisted that Pervez Musharraf is reluctant to appear before the court despite several orders. The court also rejected a request from Musharraf's lawyer to stop the proceedings until security arrangements are made.

The former president is also facing several other cases including high treason for abrogating the constitution when he had imposed emergency rule in 2007 and the assassination of former premier Benazir Bhutto.

Musharraf, who seized power in a coup in 1999 and resigned in August 2008 to avoid impeachment by the parliament, denied all charges and vowed to defend himself in courts.

He returned to Pakistan in 2013 after over four years of self- imposed exile in Britain and the UAE to lead his All Pakistan Muslim League in the May 11 parliamentary elections. Courts had, however, disqualified him for holding any public office.

Former Interior Minister Aftab Sherpao, then provincial governor, Owais Ghani and ex-home minister, Mir Shoaib Nowsherwani, are also accused in the case. All have been formally charged. Endi