QUETTA-
Former president General (retd) Pervez Musharraf was indicted by a local anti-terrorism court (ATC) in a case pertaining to murder of Baloch nationalist leader Nawab Akbar Bugti on Wednesday.
Musharraf and other officials were nominated in the case by Nawabzada Jamil Akbar Bugti, son of Nawab Akbar Khan Bugti.
During today’s hearing, the former president did not appear in the court despite repeated orders by the bench. His counsel Zeeshan Cheema informed the court that his client was ill and therefore could not appear in the court and requested the court to accept his exemption application.
Rejecting the request, the court ordered indictment of Musharraf, former interior minister Aftab Ahmed Khan Sherpao and former home minister of Balochistan Mir Shoaib Nowsherwani in the case.
The hearing was adjourned till February 4.
Arrest warrants for the accused were issued earlier by the Balochistan High Court.
Bugti was killed in August 2006 in an explosion in a cave where he was hiding during a military raid ordered by Musharraf, the then president and army chief.
The Baloch leader had led an armed campaign to demand greater autonomy for the province and more share in the province’s natural resources.