Former president Pervez Musharraf has moved court for bail in the Lal Masjid case. An Islamabad court on Saturday took up the petition filed by General (r) Pervez Musharraf seeking his post-arrest bail in the murder case of Ghazi Abdul Rasheed and his mother. However, on the request of his opponent’s lawyer, the court adjourned the matter until October 23. In the case, the former president is accused of issuing orders for the Lal Masjid operation in which Abdul Rasheed and his mother Sabiha Khatoon were killed. A case was lodged by the Aabpara police on September 2 on the directives of the Islamabad High Court (IHC) on a complaint filed by Haroon Rasheed, son of Abdul Rasheed.
ADMIN SOUGHT ARMY: In the bail petition, Musharraf’s lawyer Ilyas Siddiqui told Additional and Sessions Judge Wajid Ali that his client had no role in the operation. He said that it was the district administration that summoned the army after failing to settle the issue peacefully. He also said the joint investigation team former to probe the case found nothing against Musharraf. Tariq Asad, complainant’s counsel, submitted paper of attorney in the court. He requested the court to adjourn the matter for a short period as he needed to prepare himself for arguments. The hearing has been adjourned till October 23. A few days ago, Musharraf told the Joint Investigation Team (JIT) that he had not ordered the Lal Masjid operation. He said the operation was carried out on the directives of the ICT administration. In his statement, the former president also claimed that the ICT administration had called the army for help. Over 100 people, including 10 army and Rangers officials, were killed during the military offensive against terrorists. The former president has already obtained bails in cases of Benazir Bhutto’s murder, judges’ detention and Akbar Bugti’s murder.