QUETTA: An anti-terrorism court (ATC) on Tuesday issued orders for former president Gen (retd) Pervez Musharraf to appear on Feb 3 before the bench hearing the murder case of Baloch nationalist leader Nawab Akbar Bugti.

The hearing of the Akbar Bugti murder case was held in a special anti-terrorism court and was attended by former federal interior minister Aftab Sherpao and former Balochistan home minister Shoaib Nosherwani.

The ATC ordered the former military ruler to appear before the court on Feb 3.

After the hearing, Nawabzada Jamil Bugti’s lawyer told the media representatives that there were no grounds for the case to be prolonged and that the case of Nawab Akbar Bugti’s killing should be solved soon.

Baloch nationalist leader Akbar Khan Bugti was killed in a cave on Aug 26, 2006 during a military crackdown ordered by Musharraf who was president and army chief at the time.

On Nov 26, former prime minister Shaukat Aziz, former governor Balochistan Owais Ahmed Ghani, former district coordination officer (DCO) Abdul Samad Lasi, all of whom were also nominated in the murder of the Baloch leader, were declared fugitives by the ATC hearing the case.

The co-accused persons still remain at large.

The court rejected Musharraf’s application seeking exemption from attending court proceedings and had ordered him to appear on Dec 24.