12-September-2009 BHC admits petition against Musharraf

QUETTA: The Balochistan High Court on Friday admitted for regular hearing a petition submitted by Nawabzada Jamil Akbar Bugti for registration of an FIR against killers of his father Nawab Akbar Bugti in a military action on Aug 26, 2006.

The petition came up for preliminary hearing before the single-judge bench of Chief Justice Qazi Faez Isa.

After hearing arguments of both sides, the court ordered that notices be issued to respondents, including former president Pervez Musharraf for October 7.

Advocates Shakeel Ahmed Hadi and Sohail Rajput appeared on behalf of the petitioner and Balochistan prosecutor-general Malik Zahoor Shahwani represented the state.

The petitioner challenged the rejection of his application by the Sibi sessions court on Sept 4 on the grounds that the court had no jurisdiction to direct the Dera Bugti police to file an FIR against the former president and others because the incident had taken place in Tartani mountains of Kohlu district and not in Dera Bugti district.

The petitioner said the Sibi sessions court had unlawfully rejected the application despite the fact that the lower court had the jurisdiction to direct the Dera Bugti police because the incident had taken place in an area of Dera Bugti district adjacent to Kohlu district.

Nawabzada Jamil said that after killing Nawab Bugti security forces brought his body to Dera Bugti town and buried it in their ancestral graveyard.

The petitioner has nominated the former president, his prime minister Shaukat Aziz and interior minister Aftab Sherpao, Balochistan’s former governor Owais Ahmed Ghani, former chief minister Jam Mohammad Yousuf and his home minister Sohaib Nausherwani.

The court ordered that notices should be issued to all respondents except NWFP Governor Owais Ghani who at present was holding a constitutional position.

The notice for Mr Ghani should be issued to the Attorney-General of Pakistan because Article 248 needed interpretation.

The chief justice directed that the notices to respondents who were out of the country should be sent to the Foreign Office and should also be advertised in daily Jang’s London edition.