ISLAMABAD, Nov 1: Decision on Gen Pervez Musharraf’s post-arrest bail plea in the ‘murder’ case of the Lal Masjid cleric Abdul Rasheed Ghazi, which was to be announced on Friday, has been deferred to next week.

Instead of announcing the judgment he had reserved on Wednesday, Additional District and Sessions Judge Wajid Ali decided to hear further arguments on November 4, after Ghazi’s son, Haroon Rasheed, objected to the police investigation into the murder charge that he had filed against the former president and army chief.

Ghazi was killed in the 2007 military operation in the Lal Masjid. Musharraf, already under house arrest in other cases, was arrested on October 10; five weeks after Haroon registered the murder charge against him with Aabpara police.

In their preliminary investigation, the police declared “innocent” and informed the sessions court that the complainant Haroon Rasheed was “neither eyewitness of the said murder, nor could he produce tangible evidence against Musharraf”.

Haroon’s counsel Tariq Asad told the court on Friday that the police investigations were “based on mala fide intentions” and were “completed in unnecessary haste.”

Maulana Wajihullah, the other counsel, contended that the police did not include post-mortem report and other ‘important evidence’ in the challan.

He claimed his client had ‘enough evidence’ that connected Musharraf with the ‘murder’ and requested the court to make it part of the case record.

Advocate Wajihullah charged that the police hastily submitted the challan “without examining the evidence.”

Defence counsel advocate Ilyas Siddiqui opposed rehearing of the bail petition of Musharraf.

He said the matter could not be delayed as under the National Judicial Policy the trial court has to decide a bail plea within five days.

Judge Wajid Ali himself had observed the same on October 26, noting that Musharraf’s bail petition had been pending since October 12.