KARACHI, March 12: An anti-terrorism court deferred on Wednesday the indictment of a former chief minister of Balochistan, Sardar Akhtar Mengal, till March 24.

Judge Ahmed Nawaz Shaikh of the ATC-III, who is conducting the trial inside the central prison, had earlier fixed March 12 for framing of charges against the accused. But the hearing was postponed since the defence counsel requested the court for adjournment, stating that his client was unwell and admitted to the Liaquat National Hospital.

A case (FIR 170/06) was registered against Akhtar Mengal and his servants at Darakhshan police station for kidnapping army personnel, taking them hostage and torturing them on April 5, 2006.