QUETTA: An anti terrorism court (ATC) in Quetta on Wednesday indicted former military ruler Gen (retd) Pervez Musharraf in a case pertaining to the murder of Baloch nationalist leader Nawab Akbar Khan Bugti.

Nawabzada Jamil Akbar Bugti, son of Nawab Akbar Khan Bugti, had nominated the former president and other high-ups in the murder of his father. The Balochistan High Court had already issued arrest warrants of the accused persons.

Despite the ATC's repeated orders, the former military dictator did not appear in the court today.

Zeeshan Cheema, lawyer of the former president, informed the court today that his client was suffering from an illness and therefore he could not appear in the court.

The judge said that only a medical board can confirm whether Musharraf is suffering from any illness.

Read: ATC orders Musharraf to appear in Bugti murder case

Sohail Rajput, lawyer of Jamil Bugti, contended that the former president was regularly giving interviews to different TV channels.

Cheema requested the court to accept the exemption application of the former president.

Rejecting the request, the court ordered the indictment of Musharraf, former interior minister Aftab Ahmed Khan Sherpao and former home minister of Balochistan Mir Shoaib Nowsherwani in the murder of the Baloch leader.

The hearing of the case was subsequently adjourned till Feb 4. The judge moreover said that the case would be heard on a daily basis from Feb 4 onward.

Baloch nationalist leader Nawab Akbar Khan Bugti was killed in August 2006 in an explosion in a cave where he had taken refuge during a military crackdown ordered by Musharraf who was president and army chief at the time.

Bugti had led an armed campaign to press for provincial autonomy and a greater share of profits from Balochistan’s natural resources.

The death of the Baloch chieftain had sparked angry protests in parts of the country.

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 Benazir Bhutto in a gun and suicide attack.