Islamabad:
A Pakistani court has directed the 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 division bench of the Balochistan High Court had summoned Musharraf to appear before it for Wednesday'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 then directed the police in Dera Bugti district to register a First Information Report (FIR) 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.
Besides Musharraf, Jamil Bugti had asked the High Court to direct police to register a case against former premier Shaukat Aziz, former Interior Minister Aftab Ahmed Khan Sherpao, former Balochistan Governor Owais Ahmed Ghani and several other persons in connection with the killing of his father.