Bugti murder case: Musharraf ordered to appear in Pak court

The court ordered for the production of Musharraf and also issued directives for the concerned jail officials in this regard

A Pakistani anti-terrorism court today issued warrants for former military ruler Pervez Musharraf to appear before it in connection with the Nawab Akbar Bugti murder case.

During the hearing of the case in Quetta, former Interior Minister Aftab Sherpao and former provincial Home Minister Mir Shoaib Nowsherwani appeared in the court, while the officials of Crime Branch presented report relating to the non-availability of Musharraf.

The court then ordered for the production of Musharraf and also issued directives for the concerned jail officials in this regard.

Later, the court adjourned the hearing until October 22 and the hearing of bail petitions of Aftab Sherpao and Shoaib Nowsherwani was also put off until then.

Musharraf's lawyers have said he faces security risks and hence the case should be moved out from Quetta.

Meanwhile, the All Pakistan Muslim League (APML) of Musharraf protested against the continued detention of the former military dictator terming it "a part of an elaborate political conspiracy contrary to justice and the rule of law."

In a statement, Musharraf's political adviser Chaudry Sarfraz Anjum Kahlon stated that the former president "was being punished for protecting the unity and integrity of Pakistan against violent actors."

"All cases currently registered against Musharraf are politically orientated and devoid of any reality or legal merit. It is a grave injustice that the former president has been incarcerated for near to six months and serious questions are being raised about the validity of the legal process."

Kahlon added "those political forces behind the unjust and illegal detention of Musharraf are inadvertently emboldening extremists, terrorists and foreign backed separatists in Pakistan".