Pak court orders FIR against Musharraf

A Pakistani court today directed police to register a case against former President Pervez Musharraf and several of his key aides in connection with the killing of Baloch nationalist leader Nawab Akbar Bugti in a military operation in 2006.

A Pakistani court on Wednesday directed police to register a case against former President Pervez Musharraf and several of his key aides in connection with the killing of Baloch nationalist leader Nawab Akbar Bugti in a military operation in 2006.

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A division bench of the Balochistan High Court had summoned Musharraf to appear before it for today's hearing of a petition seeking his trial for Bugti's murder but neither he nor his counsel was present at the proceedings.

The court directed police in Dera Bugti district to register a First Information Report and to conduct an investigation. The lawyer of Bugti's son Jamil Akbar Bugti, who had filed the petition, said the FIR would be filed once the court's formal order is received.

"This is just the beginning and the first step. We don't have much confidence in the government and I think the investigation will not be thorough," Jamil Bugti said.

Musharraf, who resigned as President in August last year, is currently in the US for a lecture tour. He has been living outside Pakistan since mid-April.