Ghazi murder case: Fresh warrants for Musharraf issued

Petitioner requests former president be declared proclaimed offender

ISLAMABAD: A district and sessions court in Islamabad on Saturday issued fresh non-bailable warrants for former president Pervez Musharraf in the Ghazi Abdul Rasheed murder case.

When the case was taken up by Additional District and Sessions judge (West) Pervaizul Qadir Memon, Tariq Asad, counsel for petitioner Haroonur Rasheed Ghazi, requested the court to declare Musharraf a proclaimed offender since the accused had failed to appear before the court.

Musharraf’s counsel Malik Tahir Mehmood, however, said he had filed an application in the same court for withdrawal of a non-bailable arrest warrants for his client in the case. Mehmood requested that the court first adjudicated his plea before taking up the plaintiff’s plea.



Mehmood sought adjournment of the case for arguments. While accepting his plea, the court adjourned the hearing till May 17.

The former president’s guarantors Capt (retd) Nazir Ahmed and Jan Mohammad, who had been directed to explain why the accused had failed to appear before the court, also submitted their replies, saying Musharraf will appear as soon as he returns after undergoing medical treatment abroad.

The guarantors had submitted sureties along with bonds and undertakings that Musharraf would appear before the court during trial proceedings.

Musharraf was granted bail in the Ghazi murder case in November 2013, and has not appeared in court since then.

On February 20, the sessions court issued non-bailable arrest warrants for the former president in the same case.

Lal Masjid cleric Ghazi Abdul Rasheed was killed during the siege of the mosque in 2007, while Musharraf was army chief and president.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 15^th, 2016.