ISLAMABAD: A petition was on Thursday filed with a local court seeking the arrest of former president retired Gen Pervez Musharraf in the murder case of a Lal Masjid cleric.

Advocate Tariq Asad submitted the petition to the court on behalf of Haroon Rashid, a son of slain cleric Abdul Rashid Ghazi.

Arguing before Additional District and Sessions Judge (ADSJ) Pervaizul Qadir Memon, Mr Asad said after the recent decision of the Supreme Court, the government was likely to remove Gen Musharraf’s name from the Exit Control List (ECL).

He contended that if allowed to go abroad, the former president would not come back to face cases pending against him in different courts, including the murder case of the Lal Masjid cleric in the additional district and sessions court.

Petitioner says if allowed to go abroad, Musharraf will never come back to stand trial in Abdul Rashid Ghazi murder case

The counsel requested the court to direct the ministry of interior to circulate among all the exit points the warrants of arrests it (ADSJ) issued against Musharraf on February 20. ADSJ Memon on February 20 issued the non-bailable arrest warrants against Gen Musharraf after his repeated absence from the trial proceedings.

Haroon Rashid, the complainant in the case, had nominated Gen Musharraf as the sole accused in the murder case.

The Aabpara police in September 2013 registered an FIR against Gen Musharraf under the direction of the Islamabad High Court (IHC) after Mr Rashid filed a petition seeking legal action against the former military ruler for launching a military operation against Lal Masjid in 2007. His father Rashid Ghazi and grandmother Sahib Khatoon were killed in the operation.

ADSJ Memon, after hearing the arguments on Thursday, issued notices to the secretary ministry of interior and the Federal Investigation Agency and adjourned the proceedings till April 2.

The former president, on the other hand, has already challenged the issuance of the non-bailable arrest warrants in the IHC.

Justice Aamir Farooq of the IHC would take up the petition on Friday.

Malik Tahir Mehmood, a legal counsel for Musharraf, on Thursday submitted the documents that the court had asked for during the last hearing. The documents included detailed order of the additional district and sessions judge and the medical reports of Musharraf.

The petition filed by Musharraf with IHC contended that the local court had issued the warrants despite the fact that he had submitted medical certificates to the court with a request to grant him an exemption from the personal appearance due to his health conditions. The petition requested the IHC to annul the arrest warrants.

Published in Dawn, March 18th, 2016