KARACHI, May 28: Former chief minister of Balochistan Jam Mohammad Yousaf, nominated as a suspect in the Nawab Akbar Bugti murder case and now living abroad, was on Monday granted protective bail by the Sindh High Court in the case.

A single bench headed by SHC chief justice Mushir Alam granted him bail in a sum of Rs500,000 for 10 days from the date of his arrival in the county.

The court also ordered that the applicant should arrive within a month as assured by his counsel.

The former Balochistan CM represented by advocates Ilyas Khan and Mohammed Farooq, sought protection from arrest in the Bugti murder case on the ground that he was under medical treatment in Dubai.

He moved an application praying to the court to grant him pre-arrest/transit bail to enable him to present himself before court.

He submitted that he had to file an application for pre-arrest bail before the High Court of Balochistan in Quetta.

The applicant submitted that he was a descendant of the Rulers of the then Las Bela State founded in 1742 by Jam Ali Khan as an independent state until 1955, when the state became part of West Pakistan.

He said he had twice served as chief minister of Balochistan and also health minister of Pakistan as well as speaker of the Balochistan Assembly.

The former CM stated that Nawabzada Jameel Akbar Khan Bugti, son of the late Nawab Mohammed Akbar Khan Bugti, filed an application before the sessions judge of Sibi under Section 22-A of the criminal procedure code praying for the registration of an FIR, but the application was dismissed on September 4, 2009 on the point of jurisdiction.

He said Jameel Bugti’s application was later allowed by the chief justice of the Balochistan High Court and an FIR naming him and others was registered on Oct 13, 2009 on a complaint of Nawabzada Jameel Akbar Khan Bugti.

He stated that the cause of Bugti’s murder alleged in the FIR was that the deceased got annoyed by the alleged rape of Dr Shazia Khalid in Sui tehsil of Dera Bugti district and no action in that regard was taken against the perpetrators by the administration.

It was also alleged that the then president Pervez Musharraf tried to cover up the incident and did not want it to be investigated.

Jam Yousaf further submitted that the slain Baloch leader was also concerned about the loss of wealth of Balochistan and that led to serious political differences between the deceased and president Musharraf.

He stated that the relationship deteriorated to such an extent that the deceased had to leave his place of residence to seek shelter in hills for safety and he was killed between the night of Aug 26 and 27 in 2006.

Bugti’s son alleged that former president Pervez Musharraf, former PM Shaukat Aziz, former interior minister Aftab Ahmed Khan Sherpao, former governor of Balochistan Awais Khan Ghani, former Balochistan CM Jam Yousaf and former provincial home minister Shoaib Ahmed Nausherwani had committed the murder of his father.

Jam Yousaf further stated that an interim charge-sheet was submitted and warrants for his arrest were issued on April 4.

He stated that Sardar Bugti was killed in missile attacks by the armed forces that were not under his control or command as the CM.

The applicant stated that the main accused in the FIR was retired general Pervez Musharraf and no concrete effort had been made to seek his extradition.

He submitted that if he was granted pre-arrest interim bail, he would go to Quetta and apply for pre-arrest bail before the High Court of Quetta and would also cooperate with the police in its investigation.

The court ordered: “It is stated that if he arrives without any protection he may be arrested and will suffer undue humiliation before he could seek any relief and or surrender and appear before court. Learned counsel has drawn my attention to the orders passed in various cases including CP No D-1824/2008, CP No D-1906/2008 and Cr Bail Application No 623/2005. Therefore, without touching the merits, the applicant Jam Muhammad Yousaf is extended protection for 10 days from the date of arrival, but such arrival should be within one month as stated by the counsel.”