Beleaguered former military ruler Pervez Musharraf is set to walk out of house arrest after Pakistan's Supreme Court granted him bail in the Akbar Bugti murder case, his lawyers claimed on Thursday.
His lawyers said this was the last case in which he was still under arrest and he had already been granted bail in all other cases against him, including those related to the assassination of former premier Benazir Bhutto and the imposition of emergency in 2007.
"He has been granted bail in the last case for which he was under arrest. He is a free man now," Ilyas Siddiqui, one of Musharraf s lawyers, told PTI.
"He has already been granted bail in the judges case as well as the Bhutto case."
Aasia Ishaque, spokesperson of Musharraf s All Pakistan Muslim League party, said he will not leave the country.
"Musharraf is not going to leave the country. He will continue to stay in Pakistan and fight the politically motivated cases," she told PTI.
A three-judge bench, on Thursday, set Musharraf's bail in the Bugti murder case at two surety bonds of Rs 1 million each.
The Balochistan High Court had turned down the former President s bail petition, after which he appealed in the apex court.
Welcoming the verdict, Ishaque said: "It was due for a very long time. I'm happy that the Supreme Court gave him bail.
"Before granting bail, the bench noted that there was no evidence of conspiracy against Musharraf in the Bugti murder case. That is more important to us."
Musharraf is currently being held at his farmhouse on the outskirts of Islamabad, guarded by nearly 300 policemen, paramilitary personnel, soldiers, snipers and anti-terrorism officers.
He took power in a 1999 coup and ruled until he was forced to step down as President due to a threat of impeachment by his opponents in 2008.
Musharraf then went into exile and returned to Pakistan in March in a bid to resurrect his political career but saw himself entangled in a legal web that eventually led to his arrest.
Baloch nationalist leader Akbar Bugti was killed in a cave on August 26, 2006 during a military crackdown ordered by Musharraf, who was president and army chief at the time.
Bugti led an armed campaign to press for provincial autonomy and a greater share of profits from Balochistan s natural resources. His death sparked angry protests across the country.
An anti-terrorism court in Quetta had on September 30 issued warrants for producing Musharraf before it in connection with the murder case. The next hearing in the Quetta court is scheduled for October 22.
Musharraf s lawyers have said he faces security risks and hence the case should be moved out of Quetta.
Another case against him is in connection with the assassination of former premier Benazir Bhutto, who was killed by a suicide bombed after a political rally in Rawalpindi in December 2007.
Musharraf has pleaded not guilty to the charges, which include murder, conspiracy to murder and facilitation of murder. He has blamed Bhutto's assassination on the Taliban and said he warned her of militant threats to her safety.
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