QUETTA:
The provincial minister of Jamhoori Watan Party Shahzain Bugti was released from jail on Tuesday after the Balochistan High Court ordered his release yesterday.
The 26 other co-accused arrested along with Bugti will be released tomorrow.
Updated from print edition (below)
Illegal weapons charges: High court grants bail to Baloch leader
The Balochistan High Court has ordered the release of provincial president of the Jamhoori Watan Party Shahzain Bugti and 26 other co-accused on bail.
Announcing the verdict, vacation Judge of the BHC Justice Muhammad Noor Miskanzai approved the bail application and ordered the release of Shahzain and 26 others on submission of surety bonds worth Rs500,000 each.
The grandson of the late Nawab Akbar Bugti, Shahzain and 26 others were arrested by paramilitary troops of the Frontier Corps at the Buleli check post when they recovered a large quantity of arms and ammunitions, including anti-aircraft guns, on December 22, 2010.
Their counsel had moved the BHC for the release of all the accused on bail after the district and sessions judge Quetta rejected their bail plea.
The anti-terrorism court also transferred the cases, saying that it was not a case of terrorism and did not fall under the ATC jurisdiction.
The Jamhoori Watan Party denied the charges, claiming that it was a move to stop the provincial chief from taking out a long march towards Dera Bugti on January 28.
Shahzain had announced that he would hold the long march to rehabilitate the people of the Bugti tribe who had been displaced during the military operation launched by former president General Pervez Musharraf.
Shahzain has been admitted in the jail ward of Sandeman Hospital for medical treatment for the past two days.
Published in The Express Tribune, January 18th, 2011.
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