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Pakistani court orders Musharraf's arrest in cleric murder case

Xinhua, June 19, 2015 Adjust font size:

A court in Pakistan on Friday ordered the arrest of former President Pervez Musharraf in the murder case of a top cleric who was killed during the 2007 military raid on the Islamabad's Red Mosque, lawyers said.

Abdul Rashid Ghazi, deputy prayers leader of the mosque was among nearly 90 students and 11 security personnel who had been killed during a three-day bloody standoff.

Musharraf was accused of issuing order for the military raid on the mosque and its nearby girls' religious school after some of the armed students took control of the government buildings and refused to surrender.

The local court in Islamabad issued Musharraf's non-bailable arrest warrant and instructed the police to produce the former president on July 24.

The District Judge Kamran Basharat Mufti rejected Musharraf's plea for exemption from personal appearance, the mosque's defense lawyer, Tariq Asad said. Musharraf had sought exemption due to health reasons, however, the judge rejected the medical report.

The court also asked the guarantors in Musharraf's bail to ensure his presence in the court on the next hearing otherwise the court will confiscate the surety bonds.

The court had released Mushuarraf on bail in the same case in 2013.

The former president has also been charged in two other high profile cases, the 2007 assassination of former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto and the killing of senior tribal leader Nawab Akbar Bugti in the 2006 military operation.

Musharraf's lawyers say their client had not issued any written order for the military raid on the militants-affiliated mosque.

Musharraf, who leads All Pakistan Muslim League party, returned to the country in March 2013 after a nearly four-year self-imposed exile to take part in the parliamentary elections. However, a court had disqualified him from standing in the May elections.

He also faces high treason charges for suspending the constitution when he had imposed emergency rule in the country in 2007. Endi