BHC grants interim bail to Sherpao in Bugti murder case

QUETTA: The Balochistan High Court (BHC) on Tuesday accepted the bail plea submitted by former federal interior minister Aftab Ahmed Khan Sherpao in the Nawab Akbar Bugti murder case, Geo News reported.

Aftab Sherpao had submitted the bail application on Monday and today the court granted him bail against a surety of one million rupees and adjourned the hearing to Sept 3.

The former minister appeared before a two-member bench comprising Justice Jamal Mandokhel and Justice Ghulam Mustafa Mengal that heard the Akbar Bugti murder case today.

During the proceedings, counsel for the former minister Professor Mohammad Umer Farooq argued that his client had no knowledge about Bugti’s murder infact he came to know about the operation through media reports.

At this point, Aftab Sherpao told the court that he was named in the FIR as he was the member in the federal cabinet.

Speaking to the media after hearing, Sherpao said he had no role in the military operation in Balochistan, adding that, whatever took place, happened at the behest of the provincial government.

He said that Bugti was a great leader, adding that the problems could not be solved by killing anyone.

The complainant in the case is Akbar Bugti’s elder son, Jamil Bugti, who named in the FIR then president General (r) Pervez Musharraf, then prime minister Shaukat Aziz, then Balochistan governor Owais Ghani, then interior minister Aftab Sherpao, then Balochistan chief minister Jam Yousuf and then provincial home minister Shoaib Nausherwani.

Nawab Akbar Khan Bugti was killed during a military operation on Aug 26, 2006.