QUETTA:
Crime Branch, the investigative wing of the Balochistan police, submitted a challan (charge sheet) in the Nawab Akbar Bugti murder case on Saturday. However, no evidence or witness statements were presented to convict those responsible for the crime.
Some experts claimed that the police had completed the paperwork without making concrete efforts to collect evidence against any of the involved parties. The charge sheet was submitted before the Kohlu sessions court, which was a mere formality, a seasoned observer pointed out.
The accused nominated in the FIR lodged by Nawabzada Jamil Akbar Bugti, son of Nawab Akbar Bugti, include former president Pervez Musharaf, former prime minister Shaukat Aziz, former interior minister Aftab Ahmad Khan Sherpao, ex Balochistan chief minister Jam Mir Mohammad Yusuf and former home minister Shoaib Nausherwani.
The charge sheet was not accompanied by a post-mortem report on the cause of death.
The prayer leader who led the funeral prayers of the slain leader told the media that he had not seen his face, thus it was questionable that the man buried in the grave was Nawab Bugti or someone else.
Jam Mir Mohammad Yousaf had claimed that the Pakistan Army conducted the military operations under direct orders from Pervez Musharraf. He said in his statement that the police and Balochistan Levies did not participate in the operations against Nawab Bugti and his comrades-in-arms in the Bugti Hills.
Some observers cast doubt on whether the police had ever approached the army officers to record their statements in the case registered on the orders of the Balochistan High Court. Interestingly, the police had not approached Nawabzada Jamil Akbar Bugti to record his statement either, which could have been presented as evidence in the court during the proceedings.
Published in The Express Tribune, April 8th, 2012.
