SC rejects pleas for removal of ex-ministers’ names from Bugti murder FIR

* Petitioners say provincial govt had no authority when operation was launched

By Irfan Ghauri

ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court on Friday rejected petitions against the Balochistan High Court (BHC) verdict that directed authorities concerned to lodge a first information report against former president Gen (r) Pervez Musharraf, among others, in the Akbar Bugti murder case.

A three-member bench of the apex court headed by Justice Nasirul Mulk rejected the identical pleas submitted by former Balochistan chief minister Jam Muhammad Yousuf and former provincial home minister Shoaib Nausherwani and upheld the BHC’s decision.

They had asked the SC to remove their names from the FIR as they claimed they were not involved in Bugti’s murder.

Operation: Appearing on notice, Moazam Butt, lawyer for the petitioners, told the court that Bugti had been killed in a military operation and his clients were innocent.

He said the Balochistan government had no authority when the military operation was launched and requested the court to remove the names of Yousaf and Nausherwani from the FIR.

The court, however, dismissed the petitions and upheld the BHC’s decision. In October 2009, the BHC had ordered the Dera Bugti station house officer to register an FIR against Musharraf, Yousuf and former interior minister Aftab Sherpao in Bugti’s murder case.

Akbar Bugti’s eldest son, Jamil Bugti, had moved the BHC seeking the registration of an FIR against the “culprits”. Akbar Bugti was killed in 2006 in an operation in Balochistan where insurgents have been battling for many years to secure a better deal for themselves.

Musharraf has already denied allegations of involvement in Bugti’s murder, saying Bugti’s death was an accident and he was not killed by the security forces. (Daily Times)