Court Issues Arrest Warrant for Former Pakistani President Musharraf for Murder

The provincial Balochistan High Court (BHC) has issued an arrest warrant for former Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf for the alleged August 2006 murder of Baloch nationalist leader Nawab Akbar Bugti, local media reported Monday.

NEW DELHI (Sputnik) — The court passed the order during a hearing of a review petition, filed by the Anti-Terrorism Court, challenging the former president's acquittal. After studying the arguments of the plaintiff and the defense, the High Court issued an arrest warrant, the Express Tribune newspaper reported.

In January, Musharraf, who was president of Pakistan between 2001 and 2008, was acquitted of charges relating to the murder of Bugti, but his son, Nawabzada Jamil, demanded to reopen the case.

According to reports, despite repeated orders, Musharraf has failed to appear before the court citing security reasons. The court ordered that the administration should ensure provision of security to the former president while he appears in court. The former president is currently in Dubai.

Akbar Bugti was the head of the Bugti tribe of Baloch people and served as the Minister of State for Interior and Governor of Balochistan Province in Pakistan. He was an advocate of greater autonomy for Balochistan and acted as a nationalist leader during the confrontation between central authorities and Baloch activists. He was killed in August 2006 during a search operation, allegedly ordered by Musharraf.