ISLAMABAD/QUETTA: Another judge of the Supreme Court, Justice Nasirul Mulk, on Monday detached himself from hearing a petition filed for the rejection of Musharraf’s bail in the judges detention case.

Justice Nasir is the second judge to excuse himself from hearing the petition. Previously, Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry had also recused himself from the bench hearing the case.

The Islamabad High Court (IHC) had granted post-arrest bail to retired General Pervez Musharraf in the case relating to detention of judges after the proclamation of emergency on Nov 3, 2007. Aslam Ghuman Advocate later challenged the decision in the apex court.

Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry, who was heading the bench initially formed to hear the petition, had excused himself from being part of the bench as he had also remained in detention until his reinstatement in March 2009.

When the three-judge bench headed by Justice Nasirul Mulk resumed hearing of the petition filed by Aslam Ghuman Advocate on Monday, Justice Nasir expressed his inability to hear the case any further.

He said that the chief justice would constitute a new bench for the hearing of this case and fix the matter.

Bugti murder case

Meanwhile, an Anti-Terrorism Court in Quetta has ordered authorities to produce the former military ruler in court while hearing a case pertaining to the murder of Baloch nationalist leader Nawab Akber Khan Bugti, DawnNews reported.

Bugti was killed in a military operation in the Kohlu area of Balochistan on August 26, 2006. The murder of the powerful tribal chief fueled long-simmering unrest in the province plagued by a separatist insurgency.

During the hearing of the case today, former Balochistan Interior Minister Aftab Khan Sherpao appeared before the bench.

ATC Judge Mohammad Ismail ordered the arrest of Musharraf, former prime minister Shaukat Aziz, former Balochistan governor Owais Ahmed Ghani and others nominated in Bugti’s murder. Moreover, it ordered the police to present the accused persons before the court after their arrest.

While expressing displeasure at the police’s Crime Branch, the court questioned why Musharraf had not yet been arrested despite the issuance of non-bailable arrest warrants against him.

The case was subsequently adjourned to July 30.