News
Sunday, April 10, 2011
Court wants speedy Musharraf arrest
RAWALPINDI: An anti-terrorism court (ATC) asked the government on Saturday to speed up the arrest of former president Pervez Musharraf amid uncertainty over whether Britain would honour a warrant for his arrest.
Musharraf, who lives in self-imposed exile in London, is wanted over the 2007 murder of ex-premier Benazir Bhutto (BB). Prosecutors accuse him of failing to provide her with enough security and an arrest warrant was issued in February.
“The court asked the prosecution to expedite execution of arrest warrants for Musharraf for early completion of the trial,” Public Prosecutor Chaudhry Zulfiqar Ali told AFP.
“We produced before the court the government’s correspondence with the British Home Office, including a copy of a letter saying the warrants are under process in Britain,” Ali said.
The counsel of a former city police officer Saud Aziz, accused in the BB murder case, appealed to the court to issue red warrants of former president Pervez Musharraf through the Interpol.
Also the Federal Investigation Authority (FIA) informed the ATC that the arrest warrants issued thrice could not be served on Musharraf so far and that efforts were still underway in this regard.
As ATC Judge Rana Nisar resumed the hearing of the case at Adiala Jail, FIA’s joint investigation team director, Javed Zia, submitted a report to the court relating to the serving of warrants on Musharraf.
He told the court that the process was still underway at the British Home Ministry in connection with compliance with the court orders.
The court also directed the FIA to speed up efforts for early disposal of the case. staff report/agencies
Courtesy www.dailytimes.com.pk