RAWALPINDI: Former military ruler General (retd) Pervez Musharraf is to be indicted on August 6 in the Benazir Bhutto murder case, an anti-terrorism court (ATC) in Rawalpindi said Tuesday.
Musharraf was also produced amidst tight security during today’s hearing of the case headed by ATC judge Habibur Rahman.
Copies of records pertaining to the case were made available to the former military strongman and he kept a set of the copies after signing the requisite document.
Moreover, Saud Aziz, who was City Police Officer (CPO) of Rawalpindi when Benazir was assassinated on December 27, 2007, and the then SP Khurram Shahzad appeared before the ATC.
The court ordered the authorities to produce the former president at the next hearing of the case, adding that he would be indicted on August 6. The case was subsequently adjourned to the said date.
Following the adjournment, the former president returned to his Chak Shahzad residence, which had been declared sub-jail.
Benazir Bhutto was assassinated in a gun-and-bomb attack outside Rawalpindi’s Liaquat Bagh on December 27, 2007 while Musharraf was president. She was killed after addressing an election campaign rally in the city.
The ATC had named Musharraf in the case in February 2011, and in August the same year he was declared a proclaimed offender and his property was attached because of his absence.
Meanwhile, the ATC in Rawalpindi also heard the petition seeking the release of Musharraf’s assets and bank accounts.
The court ordered the restoration of the former president's assets after hearing the petition.
Earlier, the ATC had attached the accounts and other moveable and immovable assets of Musharraf in August 2011 after he was declared a proclaimed offender for his repeated absence in the Benazir murder case in which he is an accused.
In related news, the Balochistan High Court rejected Musharraf’s bail application in the Akber Bugti murder case.
A two-member bench of the Balochistan High Court, comprising Justice Naeem Afghan and Justice Mustafa Mengal, heard the case.
