Baloch nationalist: Shahzain’s remand extended

Anti-Terrorism Court remands Shahzain and 26 other co-accuses into police custody for three more days.

QUETTA: An Anti-Terrorism Court in Quetta remanded on Thursday Balochistan chief of the Jamhoori Watan Party (JWP) Shahzain Bugti and 26 other co-accused into police custody for three more days.

Bugti, who is a grandson of the slain Baloch nationalist leader Nawab Akbar Khan Bugti, and his accomplices were arrested by the Frontier Corps (FC) last week. A huge cache of ammunition was seized from his possession.

The men were produced in court amid tight security, after the lapse of the seven-day remand.

The prosecutor requested the court to grant a 20-day extension in remand but the court decided to extend it by three days.

According to Bugti’s lawyer, Mukaish Kohli, the prosecution said they needed more time because they had included four more accused, who were originally from Chaman.

Later, Kohli said that the court had reserved its judgment on the bail plea until Friday. He said that the police had failed to produce a report about the previous remand. “The court ordered them to submit a report on the next date of hearing, otherwise the accused will be sent to jail,” he said.

Kohli said that he requested the court to accept Bugti’s bail application as the police had failed to produce any incriminating evidence against him.

Speaking to reporters, Bugti said he reposed confidence in the judiciary and that he would accept its decision. Meanwhile, JWP activists held a protest demonstration outside the court premises, demanding Bugti’s immediate release.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 31^st, 2010.