Pakistan court orders investigators to produce Musharraf at next hearing News
Pakistan court orders investigators to produce Musharraf at next hearing
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[JURIST] Judge Ismail Baloch of the Pakistani anti-terrorism court (ATC) on Monday ordered investigators to produce former president Pervez Musharraf [BBC profile; JURIST news archive] at the next hearing for the killing of Baloch leader Akbar Bugti, scheduled for September 10. Bugti was killed in a 2006 military operation ordered by Musharraf during his time as both president and army chief of Pakistan. Musharraf has been detained at his Islamabad farmhouse since April 19 for conspiracy to kill former prime minister Benazir Bhutto [BBC obituary; JURIST news archive] in 2007.

Musharraf has had many legal troubles of late. In April the Peshawar High Court of Pakistan banned [JURIST report] him from running for public office for the rest of his life and extended his house arrest during the ongoing trial regarding the murder of Bhutto. Last week the Pakistani interim government declined [JURIST report] to try Musharraf for treason because they claimed such action would be outside the scope of their duties. In April a Pakistan court extended [JURIST report] Musharraf’s bail on charges of illegally detaining judges. In March Human Rights Watch urged [JURIST report] Pakistan to hold Musharraf accountable for alleged human rights abuses upon his return to the country. Last year Pakistani authorities pledged to arrest [JURIST report] Musharraf for his alleged involvement in Bhutto’s assassination. In August 2011 a court ordered seizure of his property [JURIST report] and froze his bank account after he failed to respond to multiple subpoenas regarding the assassination investigation.