ISLAMABAD - The co-accused booked with Gen. (Retd) Pervez Musharraf in the murder case of Nawab Akbar Bugti had little role in the whole affair and could easily get off the hook at the time of trial, legal experts and those aware of the development informed TheNation on Sunday. A first information report (FIR) was registered by the Dera Bugti Police Station on the direction of Balochistan High Court on October 13. The FIR implicated the then president Gen. Pervez Musharraf, prime minister Shaukat Aziz, interior minister Aftab Ahmad Khan Sherpao, chief minister Balochistan Jam Yusuf and governor Awais Ahmad Ghani in the murder of Nawab Akbar Bugti. He was killed in a military operation near Kohlu in August 2006 along with around 40 mercenaries. The petition for lodging of FIR with Balochistan High Court was filed by Jamil Akbar Bugti, son of the slain Baloch nationalist leader. When contacted, the then federal minister for interior Aftab Ahmad Khan Sherpao said that he was not aware of the contents of the FIR and his counsel would look into it after getting a copy of it. He, however, said that the then federal government had little role in the operation launched in Balochistan primarily to bring peace in the troubled areas and protect the government installations frequently made target by the miscreants. He said that he had no prior information about Armys plan to kill Nawab Akbar Bugti and he also came to know about it once the operation was concluded. He admitted that the federal government had given approval to the military operation but once the Army was authorised to launch the operation, the nitty-gritty of it was left to the Armed Forces. The practice is in vogue even now, he said referring to the military operations launched recently in Swat and Malakand where Army was given free hand to deal with the terrorists. The sources informed TheNation that at that time too the political dispensation was not aware of the Armys plan to kill Nawab Akbar Bugti and even some people at helm of affairs at that time said that the Army was also not interested in killing Nawab Akbar Bugti. He was killed due to collapse of the cave he was hiding in along with the Army officials who went in for negotiations. Some legal experts were of the view that inclusion of political leadership in the case had actually weakened the case against the Gen (Retd) Musharraf who along with the military elite deployed in Balochistan was primarily responsible for the murder. The sources aware of the whole episode said that the then political dispensation in place was not more than a puppet in the hands of Gen (Retd) Musharraf who was all powerful and was calling the shots. The then premier Shaukat Aziz, CM Jam Yousaf and others had little say in the operation launched against Nawab Akbar Bugti and all what had happened in mountain range near Kholu was done by Armed Forces on its own. There was no direction whatsoever from political elite of the country in this regard. The sources in the federal government disclosed to TheNation that government would most likely distance itself from the whole affair and without the active involvement of the government, it would be next to impossible to bring the former dictator to book. And at maximum he could be declared proclaimed offender in the case, which was also a remotest possibility.