Having none of it?: ATC rejects Musharraf’s exemption petition

The court re-issued arrest warrants for all the accused.

QUETTA:

A Special Anti-Terrorist Court (ATC), on Monday, rejected the petition filed by the nominated accused General (retd) Pervez Musharraf for exemption from appearing in person in Nawab Akbar Bugti’s assassination case.

Issuing orders for the appearance of the accused, the court ordered concerned authorities to ensure arrest of the accused and act upon the orders of Balochistan High Court to arrest the accused who are living abroad.

The counsel for General (r) Musharraf, Zeeshan Cheema and Jamil Akbar Bugti’s lawyer Sohail Rajput were also present at the hearing.

The court inquired of the investigation team about the on-going investigation process. The investigation team argued that the accused former prime minister Shaukat Aziz, former governor Balochistan Owais Ahmed Ghani and the former DCO Dera Bugti Abdul Samad Lasi were all living abroad.

Musharraf’s lawyer, Zeeshan Cheema, urged the court to allow his client immunity from appearing in the court but Justice Tariq Anwer Kasi repeated the court’s earlier order.

The court re-issued the arrest warrants and directed the concerned departments to ensure that orders are executed. The court adjourned the case hearing till September 30.

“The government is not showing seriousness to bring the accused to justice,” Sohail Rajput told the media after the hearing.

“It is incomprehensible that a new application is presented in every hearing. We have conveyed to the court our reservations about non-appearance of Aftab Sherpao in the court because he was attending the All Parties Conference in Islamabad,” he said.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 11^th, 2013.