Pak anti-terrorism court indicts Pervez Musharraf in Nawab Akbar Bugti murder case

Karachi: A Pakistani court on Wednesday indicted Pervez Musharraf over the 2006 killing of a separatist leader, the latest legal hurdle facing the former military ruler since his return from self-imposed exile two years ago. The charges by the court in the southwestern city of Quetta are unlikely to cause any immediate problems for the 71-year-old, who has not attended a single hearing in the case since it began in 2013.

He was previously indicted for treason in March last year over his imposition of emergency rule in 2007, but proceedings have stalled since then as the country's civil authorities and judiciary appear to lack the will to take on the powerful military. "The anti-terrorist court has indicted Musharraf along with former interior minister Aftab Ahmad Khan Sherpao and former home minister (of) Baluchistan province Shoaib Nosherwani in Nawab Akbar Bugti's murder case," public prosecutor Taimur Shah told AFP.

Shah added the court would resume hearings in the case on February 4.

Baluch nationalist leader Nawab Akbar Bugti was killed in a military operation in 2006, sparking deadly nationwide protests and inflaming a separatist insurgency in resource-rich but impoverished Baluchistan province.

Musharraf has been staying with his daughter in Karachi where he travelled for tests at a navy-run hospital in April last year and the indictment took place in his absence. He is on bail in four other major cases linked to his time in power including the 2007 assassination of opposition leader Benazir Bhutto in a gun and suicide attack.

Facing impeachment following the 2008 elections, Musharraf resigned as president and went into self-imposed exile in Dubai.

Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif's authority has been eroded since a movement to topple him over alleged election fraud began last year, and analysts believe his government now lacks the will to offend the military by pushing for Musharraf's prosecution.