Bugti murder case: SC rejects Musharraf’s case transfer plea

ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court has rejected former army chief Pervez Musharraf’s plea to transfer the Akbar Bugti murder case from Quetta to Islamabad due to security concerns. A three-judge bench of the apex court has maintained the Balochistan High Court’s August 24 directive. During the hearing, the prosecutor general of Balochistan withdrew the request made by the provincial government to transfer the case and assured the BHC of providing every possible security to Musharraf. He told the high court that the caretaker provincial government had submitted the request to transfer the case to Islamabad for security reasons, but the incumbent government had decided to withdraw it. Counsel for Musharraf, Barrister Ilyas Siddiqui, told the bench that his client had serious security threats as several murder attempts had been made on his life and he had been receiving death threats. In his short judgment, the bench held providing protection to the accused was the responsibility of the government.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 8^th, 2013.