Benazir Bhutto case: Musharraf should be declared absconder, says FIA
Letter by British government presented in court, Musharraf extradition denied on grounds of no formal...
RAWALPINDI:
The Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) has asked a Rawalpindi Anti-Terrorism Court (ATC) to declare former president Pervez Musharraf a proclaimed offender after the British government formally refused to extradite him to Pakistan.
The former president is accused of being negligent in providing security to former prime minister Benazir Bhutto shortly before she was assassinated on December 27, 2007. According to an FIA report, he did not take the requisite security measures to prevent her assassination, despite being aware of the imminent danger to her life.
During the course of hearing on Saturday, Public Prosecutor Chaudhry Azhar submitted to the court the British Home department’s letter in which they formally refused to hand over Musharraf to Pakistan, citing the lack of an extradition treaty between Britain and Pakistan.
Azhar requested the court to declare Musharraf a proclaimed offender and confiscate all his property in the country. The prosecution also submitted a copy of an interview Musharraf gave to a television channel last week.
Musharraf has been dividing his time between Dubai and London since leaving office in August 2008 and going into self-imposed exile, but he has property in Pakistan, including a large estate in the suburbs of Islamabad.
ATC Special Judge Rana Nasir Ahmed said that Musharraf would be declared proclaimed offender after the FIA submits the compliance report of his arrest warrants and adjourned the case till May 7.
Former city police officer (CPO) Saud Aziz and superintendent police Khurram Shahzad, two of the other accused in the case, were also present before the court. They were granted bail from the Lahore High Court in March.
Earlier on February 8 the court had issued non-bailable arrest warrants for Musharraf for the first time to be served at his London address. Arrest warrants were reissued on February 18.
The judge had expressed his annoyance at the delay in arresting the former president and asked the FIA to produce him in court by April 23, but the FIA asked for more time to execute his arrest warrants.
Published in The Express Tribune, April 24th, 2011.
The Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) has asked a Rawalpindi Anti-Terrorism Court (ATC) to declare former president Pervez Musharraf a proclaimed offender after the British government formally refused to extradite him to Pakistan.
The former president is accused of being negligent in providing security to former prime minister Benazir Bhutto shortly before she was assassinated on December 27, 2007. According to an FIA report, he did not take the requisite security measures to prevent her assassination, despite being aware of the imminent danger to her life.
During the course of hearing on Saturday, Public Prosecutor Chaudhry Azhar submitted to the court the British Home department’s letter in which they formally refused to hand over Musharraf to Pakistan, citing the lack of an extradition treaty between Britain and Pakistan.
Azhar requested the court to declare Musharraf a proclaimed offender and confiscate all his property in the country. The prosecution also submitted a copy of an interview Musharraf gave to a television channel last week.
Musharraf has been dividing his time between Dubai and London since leaving office in August 2008 and going into self-imposed exile, but he has property in Pakistan, including a large estate in the suburbs of Islamabad.
ATC Special Judge Rana Nasir Ahmed said that Musharraf would be declared proclaimed offender after the FIA submits the compliance report of his arrest warrants and adjourned the case till May 7.
Former city police officer (CPO) Saud Aziz and superintendent police Khurram Shahzad, two of the other accused in the case, were also present before the court. They were granted bail from the Lahore High Court in March.
Earlier on February 8 the court had issued non-bailable arrest warrants for Musharraf for the first time to be served at his London address. Arrest warrants were reissued on February 18.
The judge had expressed his annoyance at the delay in arresting the former president and asked the FIA to produce him in court by April 23, but the FIA asked for more time to execute his arrest warrants.
Published in The Express Tribune, April 24th, 2011.