Wajid gives Mush warrants to UK FO

ISLAMABAD/LONDON Pakistans High Commission in London has confirmed receiving Pervez Musharrafs arrest warrants sent by the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) on courts prodding. High Commissioner Wajid Shamsul Hassan has forwarded the warrants to the British Foreign Office. Musharraf has been staying in Dubai for the last few weeks, in likely anticipating of the arrest orders. An anti-terrorism court reissued on Tuesday non-bailable arrest warrants for Pervez Musharraf for the third time in the Benazir Bhutto murder case. The court, which held proceedings in a jail in Rawalpindi, directed the FIA to pursue implementation of the warrant. Dr Abdul Basit, a senior lawyer, said that in case of no arrest, the former president could be declared a proclaimed offender by the court and his properties in Pakistan can be impounded. It is learnt that FIA handed over the arrest warrants to the High Commissioner for Pakistan on March 7. Musharraf was earlier ordered to appear in court on February 19, but he did not return to Pakistan. On March 7, the ATC reissued non-bailable arrest warrants against Musharraf for the third time and gave the FIA 15 days to arrest the former president. Ahmed Raza Kasuri, vice-president All Pakistan Muslim League (APML), told The Nation that General (retd) Musharraf would not return to Pakistan. He said the notices in the Benazir murder case have been issued to him to divert attention from the main issues the country is facing. Musharraf is our leader and the party would defend him. He said isnt it hypocrisy that the government is not implementing the Supreme Court orders for reopening Swiss cases against NRO beneficiaries, including President Zardari, but wants Musharraf to face the courts in Pakistan. He said when Benazir Bhutto was in self-exiled, courts issued many notices to her but she did not return. Former prime minister Benazir Bhutto was shot dead in December 2007 in Rawalpindi while campaigning for the general elections.

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