A district and sessions judge in Quetta granted bail to former Balochistan home minister Nawabzada Gazain Marri in the murder case of a senior judge of the Balochistan High Court, Justice Nawaz Marri, on Thursday.

Justice Marri had been killed on January 7, 2000 and Nawabzada Gazain Marri was among those nominated in the first information report (FIR) of the incident.

Today, District and Sessions Judge Rashid Mehmood granted bail to the former provincial home minister in the murder case against a surety bond worth Rs1 million.

Gazain Marri, son of veteran Baloch nationalist leader late Nawab Khair Bukhsh Marri, had returned to the country in September this year. However, police had arrested him soon after his arrival at the Quetta airport in relation to the Justice Nawaz Marri murder case.

Gazain is currently being held in District Jail, Quetta and faces charges in another case regarding his alleged links with a banned militant outfit — a claim he has vehemently denied.

Earlier, the deputy commissioner of Quetta had detained Gazain under Section 3 of the Maintenance of Public Order when he was granted bail by a court in Balochistan's Sibi district.