A Pakistani court on January 18 acquitted former military ruler General Pervez Musharraf over the 2006 killing of a Baluch nationalist leader – one of three legal cases Musharraf has been facing.
Lawyers for both sides in the case confirmed in Quetta that the court dismissed all the charges against Musharraf and all others named in the case.
Nawab Akbar Bugti, an ethnic Baluch leader involved in an armed struggle for greater autonomy for Pakistan’s Balochistan Province, was killed during a military operation in August 2006 when Musharraf was in power.
Bugti’s death led to widespread unrest in the province and a surge of Baluch nationalist sentiments.
Musharraf still faces trial in connection with the death of former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto, who was assassinated in December 2007 while leaving a campaign rally for her Pakistan Peoples Party.
Musharraf also was indicted for high treason in connection with his November 2007 order for emergency rule in Pakistan.
Based on AFP, dawn.com, and New York Times
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