Balochistan High Court Chief Justice Qazi Faez Isa dismissed an application submitted on behalf of former president General (r) Pervez Musharraf seeking an exemption from appearing in court in person for proceedings of the Akbar Bugti murder case.
Chief justice Isa directed the government to ensure Musharraf’s security for the May 19 court hearing. However, he added that the former president can seek exemption from appearing before the court after he hears the charges.
Anti-Terrorism Court (ATC) Quetta Judge Justice Anwar Kasi had dismissed Musharraf’s application for exemption from appearing in person, after which the petitioner had approached Balochistan High Court.
ATC Quetta had issued five orders to Musharraf to appear in the case, but he has yet to make an appearance.
The application in the Balochistan High Court was submitted by Advocate Mohammed Ilyas Siddiqui on behalf of the former president under section 540-A of the Code of Criminal Procedure. Musharraf was named as an accused in the murder of former Balochistan chief minister and governor Akbar Khan Bugti.
The charge sheet in the case been submitted but a trial is yet to begin as Pervez Musharraf has never appeared in court to hear the charges. “If the charges were framed in the presence of the client then he would be at liberty to file application for exemption at a later stage,” the court observed.
Musharraf’s counsel Advocate Muhammad Ilyas Siddiqui stated that the former president anticipates a threat to his life from different organisations and that the trial judge should have allowed his exemption from personal appearance by exercising powers vested in him under Section 540-A of the Code.
Additional Advocate General Humayun Tareen and Special Prosecutor Anti-Terrorism Court Sultan Mehmood opposed the petition, contending that the impugned order does not call for any interference as it is in accordance with the law.
