Former Pakistani president acquitted of murder | CNN

Former Pakistani president acquitted of murder

Emily Smith
By Emily Smith and Ali Shah, CNN
1 minute read
Updated 5:22 AM EST, Mon January 18, 2016
Former Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf speaks in London in 2010. Musharraf led Pakistan from 1999 to 2008, when he resigned and went into exile after being charged of violating the country's constitution in 2007. He returned in 2013, intending to run in national elections, but soon found himself entangled in legal trouble again.
Pervez Musharraf —
Former Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf speaks in London in 2010. Musharraf led Pakistan from 1999 to 2008, when he resigned and went into exile after being charged of violating the country's constitution in 2007. He returned in 2013, intending to run in national elections, but soon found himself entangled in legal trouble again.
Carl Court/AFP/Getty Images
Musharraf, left, takes the presidential oath of office in Islamabad, Pakistan, on June 20, 2001. Musharraf appointed himself president after leading a successful coup against Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif in 1999. He would also remain head of the army.
Pervez Musharraf —
Musharraf, left, takes the presidential oath of office in Islamabad, Pakistan, on June 20, 2001. Musharraf appointed himself president after leading a successful coup against Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif in 1999. He would also remain head of the army.
SAEED KHAN/AFP/Getty Images
Musharraf shakes hands with military officials in 2001.
Pervez Musharraf —
Musharraf shakes hands with military officials in 2001.
stringer/AFP/Getty Images
Musharraf speaks in 2002 at an event in Washington hosted by the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars and the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.
Pervez Musharraf —
Musharraf speaks in 2002 at an event in Washington hosted by the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars and the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.
SHAWN THEW/AFP/Getty Images
Musharraf sits with his wife, Begum Sehba, at their residence in Rawalpindi, Pakistan, in 2002.
Pervez Musharraf —
Musharraf sits with his wife, Begum Sehba, at their residence in Rawalpindi, Pakistan, in 2002.
Paula Bronstein/Getty Images
Former French President Jacques Chirac speaks with Musharraf at the Elysee Palace in Paris in 2003.
Pervez Musharraf —
Former French President Jacques Chirac speaks with Musharraf at the Elysee Palace in Paris in 2003.
PATRICK KOVARIK/AFP/Getty Images
Musharraf salutes before his speech at the United Nations General Assembly in 2003.
Pervez Musharraf —
Musharraf salutes before his speech at the United Nations General Assembly in 2003.
TIMOTHY A. CLARY/AFP/Getty Images
Musharraf, then-U.S. President George W. Bush and Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai stand in the Rose Garden of the White House as Bush delivers remarks in 2006.
Pervez Musharraf —
Musharraf, then-U.S. President George W. Bush and Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai stand in the Rose Garden of the White House as Bush delivers remarks in 2006.
Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images
Musharraf speaks to the press in November 2007, days after he declared a state of emergency in the country. Musharraf suspended Pakistan's constitution, imposed restrictions on the press and postponed the January 2008 elections. He said he did so to stabilize the country and to fight rising Islamist extremism. His action drew sharp criticism from democracy advocates, and Pakistanis openly called for his ouster.
Pervez Musharraf —
Musharraf speaks to the press in November 2007, days after he declared a state of emergency in the country. Musharraf suspended Pakistan's constitution, imposed restrictions on the press and postponed the January 2008 elections. He said he did so to stabilize the country and to fight rising Islamist extremism. His action drew sharp criticism from democracy advocates, and Pakistanis openly called for his ouster.
FAROOQ NAEEM/AFP/Getty Images
Musharraf speaks at a change-of-command ceremony in Rawalpindi on November 28, 2007. Musharraf stepped down as leader of Pakistan's army a day before he was to be sworn in as president for the third time.
Pervez Musharraf —
Musharraf speaks at a change-of-command ceremony in Rawalpindi on November 28, 2007. Musharraf stepped down as leader of Pakistan's army a day before he was to be sworn in as president for the third time.
John Moore/Getty Images
Men in Quetta, Pakistan, watch as Musharraf announces his resignation as president on August 18, 2008. A month earlier, the Pakistan Supreme Court issued notice that Musharraf would have to defend himself on charges of violating the constitution by declaring emergency rule in November 2007.
Pervez Musharraf —
Men in Quetta, Pakistan, watch as Musharraf announces his resignation as president on August 18, 2008. A month earlier, the Pakistan Supreme Court issued notice that Musharraf would have to defend himself on charges of violating the constitution by declaring emergency rule in November 2007.
BANARAS KHAN/AFP/Getty Images
Musharraf salutes as he arrives at a news conference in London in 2010. Musharraf fled to the United Kingdom instead of facing the charges against him in Pakistan.
Pervez Musharraf —
Musharraf salutes as he arrives at a news conference in London in 2010. Musharraf fled to the United Kingdom instead of facing the charges against him in Pakistan.
BEN STANSALL/AFP/Getty Images
Musharraf greets supporters outside the airport in Karachi, Pakistan, on March 24, 2013. With three court cases pending against him, Musharraf returned to Pakistan after four years of exile. He was granted bail in advance of his arrival, so he was not arrested.
Pervez Musharraf —
Musharraf greets supporters outside the airport in Karachi, Pakistan, on March 24, 2013. With three court cases pending against him, Musharraf returned to Pakistan after four years of exile. He was granted bail in advance of his arrival, so he was not arrested.
ASIF HASSAN/AFP/Getty Images
Musharraf is escorted by soldiers as he arrives at an anti-terrorism court in Islamabad on April 20, 2013. A Pakistani court rejected Musharraf's request for a bail extension, and Musharraf was put under house arrest.
Pervez Musharraf —
Musharraf is escorted by soldiers as he arrives at an anti-terrorism court in Islamabad on April 20, 2013. A Pakistani court rejected Musharraf's request for a bail extension, and Musharraf was put under house arrest.
AAMIR QURESHI/AFP/Getty Images
Pervez Musharraf

Story highlights

Nawab Akbar Khan Bugti, a popular tribal leader, was killed by security forces in 2006

Quetta, Pakistan CNN  — 

Pakistan’s former president Pervez Musharraf and two other former officials have been acquitted by an anti-terrorism court in the killing of a Baloch nationalist leader.

Nawab Akbar Khan Bugti, a popular tribal leader in the volatile province of Balochistan, was killed by security forces in Balochistan’s Kohlu district in 2006. Bugti’s son, Jamil Bugti, accused the former military ruler of murder.

“No evidence could be established against the accused,” Judge Muhammad Gohar said, referring to Musharraf as well as former interior minister Aftab Ahmed Sherpao and former provincial home minister Mir Shoaib Nowsherwani.

“We will challenge this judgement,” Sohail Rajput, lawyer for Jamil Bugti, told CNN. However, Sherpao expressed satisfaction over the judgment.

Musharraf – who became president after a bloodless coup in 1999 – went into self-imposed exile in 2008 in London and later Dubai after standing down as president a year earlier. He returned to Pakistan in 2013 with the aim of running in the country’s national elections. But his plans unraveled as he became entangled in a web of court cases relating to his time in power.

Upon return to Pakistan, Musharraf faced charges of high treason over his role in imposing emergency rule in 2007, not doing enough to protect the life of former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto and the killing of Bugti.

CNN’s Elizabeth Joseph contributed to this report.