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Saturday, April 27, 2013
BB murder case : Musharraf handed over to FIA investigators for three days* Court turns down former president’s request for medical check-up,
making changes in FIA’s team questioning himRAWALPINDI: An anti-terrorism court (ATC) on Friday handed over former president Gen (r) Pervez Musharraf to the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) on four-day physical remand in the Benazir Bhutto murder case.
The FIA produced the accused before ATC-I special judge Chaudhry Habibur Rehman amid tight security seeking his physical remand to advance the investigation in this high-profile case, which has been lingering on for the last five years. The trial court also turned down two petitions of Musharraf in which he requested for his medical check-up and sought some changes in the FIA’s joint investigation team that is questioning him. Permitting the four-day physical remand, the court directed the FIA to produce the accused before it on April 30. Musharraf’s counsel, Barrister Salman Safdar pleaded that allegations levelled against his client were baseless and speculative; therefore, there is no justification for seeking the physical remand.
FIA Senior Public Prosecutor Chaudhry Zulfiqar Ahmed contended that the court had declared Musharraf a pro-claimed offender and now the investigation team requires his physical remand to complete the probe. Barrister Safdar requested the court to conduct medical check-up of Musharraf, which was opposed by the FIA prosecutor, who argued that he was in good health. Chaudhry Zulfiqar argued that the medical examination is a requirement for an accused who is sent to jail. But in this case, the accused is being held at his own residence, which has already been declared as sub-jail in another case by the authorities.
Meanwhile, Barrister Safdar, in another petition, requested the court to bring some changes, including replacing head of the joint investigation team of the FIA for a fair probe, which was rejected by the court after the public prosecutor convinced it that it is not maintainable. “The court does not change investigation team, so this petition is not maintainable,” he added. app
Courtesy www.dailytimes.com.pk