Daily Times

KARACHI – Former President Pervez Musharraf has said on Monday that the court verdict given on Akbar Bugti murder case has proved that this case was made against him on political grounds.

According to details, an anti-terrorism court (ATC) in Quetta has acquitted former president Pervez Musharraf in the murder case of Baloch tribal leader Nawab Akbar Bugti.

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 Balochistan former home minister Mir Shoaib Nowsherwani under section 265.

Musharraf said that it was a baseless case and other cases made against him will face same future.

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 journalists 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,” Sohail 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, former Balochistan governor Awais Ahmed Ghani and former DC Dera Bugti Abdul Samad. The case hearing has been adjourned till arrest of the accused.

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.