Court issues arrest warrant against Musharraf in Abdul Rashid case

Former president fails to appear before the court; case adjourned till April 2

ISLAMABAD: An additional district and sessions court in Islamabad issued on Tuesday arrest warrant against former president Pervez Musharraf in Ghazi Abdul Rashid case, Express News reported.

A case was registered in the Islamabad High Court (IHC) against the former president for the murder of Abdul Rashid and his mother during the Lal Masjid operation on September 2, 2013.

Read: Lal Masjid operation: Case registered against Musharraf

Musharraf failed to appear before the court during the hearing today (March 10), after which Judge Wajid Ali adjourned the case till April 2.

Earlier, the IHC had summoned the SHO over non-compliance with the court’s orders to look into whether a case can be registered in this regard.

The IHC Justice directed the SHO to appear before the court in response to a contempt application filed by Haroonur Rashid Ghazi — the son of slain Lal Masjid cleric Abdul Rasheed Ghazi — against the police for non-compliance with court orders and sought criminal proceedings against the police official.

On July 12, 2013, the same bench had ordered the police to book the former president, and if the Lal Masjid operation was a cognisable offence, a case be registered against Musharraf for the death of Ghazi and others during the operation. However, the police had refused to register an FIR, saying that it would do so after consulting their legal branch.

Tariq Asad, the counsel for the petitioner, had said that they approached the concerned police station after the court’s decision but both the SHO and SSP refused to register the case.  Earlier, Haroon had filed a written statement with the Aabpara police in which he said the former president had made threatening statements on two occasions before the military operation on the mosque was launched in July 2007.